Wishverse: season one
by Kit Fisto
Summary: Based on the Buffy episode The Wish, Anyanka creates an alternate reality where Buffy never moves to Sunnydale. Big bads and little bads run amok! What would have happened in season one with no Buffy? Some slight shipping.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first fanfic ever, so any reviews and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Needless to say, all characters and the Buffyverse/Wishverse itself belongs to Joss, Mutant Enemy, Fox etc. I don't own anything, I'm just a fan._

**Romanian Woods, Romania **

**1898 **

_Leave it to gypsies to take everything so bloody personally._ That's what Spike would have said. Of course the vampire Angelus _knew_ they'd take it personally. That was half the fun. He reaped just as much pleasure from knowing how beloved the girl was as he had in doing the vile act. The plague of suffering would cripple and destroy the young gypsy girl, then spread to her clan and strike everyone who'd known or loved her. Even after the girl was dead, after Angelus had long since moved on, the suffering would continue, like ripples in a pond. Of course what Angelus had never considered was that he himself could become entangled in the web of pain he'd carefully constructed. That the wave of suffering would not only engulf the gypsy girl and her clan, but himself too.

His muscles ached as he raced towards the gypsy camp, the fires from the settlement burning brightly against the blackness of the night. _Return my soul? _He thought as he ran. _Is that even possible?_

He'd told the others nothing. Spike and Drusilla were off looking for little lost children to butcher, and Angelus had merely told Darla that he had something important to attend to, something that he needed to do alone.

The lights of the settlement drew closer. He had to reach the gypsy elders and kill them before their ritual could be completed. For any vampire, being fused with a human soul was a fate worse than death.

Angelus broke free of the woods, but a tree root snagged his footing as he ran, sending him sprawling, landing face first in the dirt by the gypsy bonfire. Frightened and surprised villagers began to gather. For an instant everything around him turned to a blistering white before turning pitch black. A man emerged from the blackness and approached the vampire. "It hurts, yes?" the man asked Angelus. "Good, it will hurt more."

The vampire felt completely numb. He failed in preventing the spell and for the moment, he had no idea where or even _who_ he was. The last thing he remembered was stumbling out of the tavern, being attacked by the blonde woman, and then falling asleep for the next hundred or so years. "Where am I?" he asked the man.

"You don't remember… everything you've done for a hundred years." The man explained. "In a moment, you will. The face of everyone you killed… Our daughter's face… They will haunt you and you will know what true suffering is."

"Killed?" the vampire began in shock. "I don't…" Suddenly his restored human soul began to access the perverted memories still fresh in his undead brain. "No!" he gasped in horror as the memories of all the suffering he'd caused came flooding back to him. "No, no no!"

Holtz's wife and children. Drusilla. The gypsy girl. A hundred other innocent faces flashed before his eyes, faces that he'd gleefully murdered. Suddenly he cared.

**Sunnydale High, Sunnydale, California**

**1999 -original timeline**

Cordelia Chase stepped out into the courtyard of Sunnydale High with her new friend Anya, glad to finally have somebody who would listen to her. Life can be so unfair. Terrible things kept happening to Cordy, and behind it all, there was only one person to blame. Not Xander. Buffy Summers. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Anya, the new girl at Sunnydale was a great listener. Ever since Xander cheated on her with the disgusting Willow Rosenberg, Cordy felt so alone. A week earlier, Cordy had walked into an abandoned factory; to _rescue_ Xander no less, when she caught the pair kissing. Who knows how far it could have gone if Cordy hadn't walked in on them. Then, to add further injury; Cordy had tripped down some stairs, tears blurring her vision, and landed on a broken rebar, impaling herself. She was rushed to hospital, and had to take a week off school. The doctors said it was a miracle that none of her vital organs had been damaged. Xander even had the gall to visit her in hospital, to bring her flowers.What a joke.

She'd given up everything to be with Xander. Her most obvious sacrifice, of course was her social status. Cordy had been the pinnacle of popularity. Everyone looked up to her. That all changed when she started dating that _loser_, Xander Harris. Harmony and the others wouldn't be seen with her, but that was fine, Cordy was making new friends. She was slowly starting to be accepted into the "Scooby gang", Xander's circle of nerdy friends. And he cheated on her. With Willow of all people.

Popularity wasn't the only sacrifice Cordelia had made for Xander. She'd also been bitten by snakes, threatened by vampires and a manner other things. And through it all, Cordelia had convinced herself that it was worth it. That _he_ was worth it. She was starting to count Buffy and the others as friends. But they weren't her friends. They would never be; they would always be _Xander's_ friends first, and Cordy did not need their pity. Her old friends had ditched her. At least this new girl, Anya was keeping her company. Cordy winced as she clutched her side.

"Are you okay?" Anya asked.

"Oh, I just pulled some stitches last night," Cordy replied. "Know why? Surprise, it was Buffy's fault." Anya followed Cordelia's gaze and saw a blonde girl sitting at a bench. _That must be Buffy_, she thought. _The slayer_.

Suddenly Harmony Kendall and the rest of Cordilia's popular former friends approached. "Oh, hey it's garbage girl!" Harmony chirped. "Loved the look last night Cor. Dumpster chic for the dumped." The group of girls giggled as the walked by, leaving Cordy's face flushing a deep pink. Anya unfastened a pendant from around her neck and handed it to Cordy. It was a good luck charm, an elegant gold necklace with a brilliant green gemstone in the centre.

"Here." Anya said. "I think you need this more than I do right now."

"Yeah, I could use some luck... and a stick with sharp pointy bits." Cordelia said gratefully as Anya fastened the pendant around Cordy's neck. "If that Buffy wasn't… I swear, she's such a pain."

"But Xander, he's an utter loser," Anya said. "Don't you just wish-"

"I would have never looked twice at Xander if Buffy hadn't made him marginally cooler by hanging out with him." Cordy interupted.

"Really?" said Anya.

"Yeah, I swear! I wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale."

Anya turned to Cordy, who recoiled in shock. The vains on Anya's normally attractive face bulged out and the skin turned a raw pink. Her nails became long and black as coal. Anya Jenkins had become Anyanka, the demon saint of women scorned.

"Done." Anyanka growled as she twisted history and reshaped reality. _I wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. _Those were the words Anyanka needed to hear.

**Sunnydale High, Sunnydale, California**

**1997 -altered timeline**

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the small blonde girl stammered to the young man she had met at the club.

"It's a great idea," replied the young male. "Now come on." The empty hallway stretched before them. The boy wasn't worried. He'd snuck into the school like this a dozen times before. There was never any security, and it was the perfect spot to take girls. He was tall, athletic with brown hair. She was petite, had straight blonde hair and glistening blue eyes. The shadows played across the girl's porcelain features, giving her a striking elegance in spite of her outward nervousness.

_What a great night_. He'd finished up work early and decided to relax at the Bronze, maybe even pick up. None of his friends were there, which in his opinion sucked. Then he spotted _her_. Of course, unbeknownst to him, she'd been eyeing him long before he ever noticed the slim, attractive schoolgirl standing by the bar. First they'd started talking. Just casual flirting. He offered to get her a drink, but she said she wasn't thirsty. _Maybe she's underage_, he thought? Her age was hard to pin down just by looking at her. Her face was youthful and so innocent. But there was something about her eyes that gave off the impression that she might even be older than him. She was a girl full of contradictions, she wouldn't drink, but her hair and attire begged for the attention of every guy in the room.

For the briefest of moments, he considered his ethics. _How old was she? If she's underage, should it matter? Could I get into any sort of trouble for this?_ He tried asking her age. She just smiled. _Fuck it. She wants me_. And he wanted her too. He'd always liked blondes, but there was something so irresistibly different about this girl. Some part of him just knew that she was nothing like any girl he'd met before.

"Do you go to school here?" the girl asked nervously.

"I used to," he replied. "On top of the gym it's so cool. You can see the whole town."

"I –I don't want to go up there." the girl stammered.

"Aw, you can't wait huh?" A small well of anger began to stir. He'd taken her this far. There was no way he'd have her bail out on him now.

"We're just going to get in trouble." This was the first time she'd ever broken into a school. Her eyes begged the boy, but this only egged him on further. _What was this chick's name again?_

"Yeah, you can count on it," he replied smugly.

The girl glanced over her shoulder nervously. "What was that?"

"What was what?" he asked back. _Darla. That's right, she said her name was Darla._

"I heard a noise," Darla answered.

"It's nothing." He answered bluntly.

"M-maybe it's something?"

"Maybe it'_ something_", he mocked.

"That's not funny!" She seemed genuinely frightened now.

"Hellooooo," the boy shouted into the darkness before them. He waited a few seconds. There was nothing. He turned back to Darla. "There's nobody here."

Darla relaxed a little and smiled sweetly at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," the boy grinned.

"Okay."

Now it was the boy's turn to feel uncomfortable. Something horrible happened to Darla's face. Her eyes turned yellow like a cat's, and the skin on her forehead twisted and formed two deep ridges that covered her brows. A pair of fangs extended from her mouth. He took a step back in horror. It was too late. Darla lunged at his neck, and the colour vanished from the boy's face before he could breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Angel's appartment, Sunnydale, California**

**1997**

Sunnydale was a fairly small town. There were a few coffee shops, a high school, and a couple of factories. There were a few small nightclubs, but _The Bronze_ was really the only place worth going. Nothing interesting or noteworthy ever really happened and if it did, then it was just not worth talking about. Most people living there were not especially happy, but they weren't especially sad either. Housing in the town was very cheap, and apart from a few small localized problems, there was little worth complaining about.

The place didn't attract many tourists. You were either part of the town, or you just weren't. Nobody really wanted to come to Sunnydale just to _visit_ the place. Nobody really wanted to leave either. The outside world was just so _strange_. In California, a person is either part of the Sunnydale world, or they aren't. The two worlds co-exist on the same map, neither having a major impact on the other. The outside world ignored Sunnydale, but nobody made a big deal about it. It was almost as if everyone living in the small town made a conscious effort to live a normal life. Get up, go to work, go home and stay away from the dark areas. The Bronze was _the_ place for socializing, but the surrounding alleyways were best kept away from. Everyone _knew_ about the muggers and weirdos who hang about at night. Anyone stupid enough to be alone in a graveyard or an alleyway after dark probably deserved what they got. Admittedly, Sunnydale had a rather large number of disappearances and unsolved murders but the last thing anyone in their right mind would do is make a fuss over it.

When one considered the frequent trouble the town had with gangs and unseemly youth, it seemed a miracle that the authorities were able to keep the place as peaceful as it was. Unlike most towns, the local journalists seemed to have a sense of pride and dignity. The _Sunnydale Press_ could most certainly _not_ be accused of blowing anything out of proportion. If people mysteriously started breaking into song and dance, or if the entire town suddenly lost the ability to speak for a few days, the newspapers would most certainly not attribute that to the supernatural. Strange things had happened in the town before, and they always, _always_ seemed to just go away if ignored. The Mayor and the Police department were doing a fine job. Sunnydale simply did not have enough room for pointless superstition or childish stories about monsters. The sort of people who can't mind their own business are the sort who will wind up in the asylum or hospital, both of which were state of the art and were always up to date with the latest in technological breakthroughs. When considering how relatively small the town was, a hospital as fine as Sunnydale's is a true testament to how _fine_ everything is, and what a good job the authorities are doing.

Rupert Giles, the new high school librarian happened to disagree with the town's mentality. He'd just moved to Sunnydale from England, and after a few hours of researching local history, had come to the conclusion that the town was situated right above hell itself.

Although the town's _other_ newest resident had not met Mr. Giles, he would have agreed with Giles wholeheartedly. "Definitely a Hellmouth," Angel mused to himself as he flipped through a pile of old newspapers. Angel knew the town rested upon a Hellmouth from the moment he arrived. He could _feel_ it. In the entirety of reality, this was one of those few spots where the dimensional walls were at their weakest. A part of him wanted to live there forever, basking in the energy emanating from the entire town. The mystical radiation of Hell was slowly leaking into the earth, some small, sinful part of Angel loved every moment of it. Most humans living in the town were completely oblivious to it. The otherworldly creatures on the other hand, were instinctively drawn to this place. If a portal into hell were to open, a Hellmouth would be the most likely place for it to happen. Anywere else on earth, the magicks had been nearly sucked dry, but on the Hellmouth, they were still strong, just as they had been in The Beginning.

Angel had spent the past few days collecting these newspapers so that he could gain a better understanding of the town, and what he might be facing over the next few months. Some damned strange thing had happened in the town over the years. The most worrying was an earthquake that occurred in 1937. Part of the town had been swallowed deep into the earth including a church full of vampires. Their leader, an ancient vampire known as the Master was nearly destroyed in the process.

"So he's still alive then." Angel asked the vampire huddled in the centre of his apartment.

"Yes." Trembled the starved, tortured creature. The vampire was lying on Angel's cold apartment floor, hands bound behind his back, various cuts and bruises decorating his demented face. The vampire was huddled within a circle of sand, the outer layer of which was entwined with various crystals and runes. The ritual to create a binding circle like this was simple but effective. Angel deeply resented the circle of holy sand in his apartment, but needed some way to contain and interrogate the monster before him.

"I see." Angel responded. "We're really making progress here." Angel held a sachet of pig's blood toward the starved shell of a man. "Now why couldn't you have been this co-operative a week ago?"

"Angelus… please" begged the vampire.

"My name's _Angel,_ you evil son of a bitch."

"Please… I can barely think. I need the blood."

"You'll get fed _after_ we run through this one last time." Angel insisted. "So the Master is still alive, but he's trapped between dimensions. Is he corporeal?"

"After much mediation and feeding, yes. He remains submerged in a pool of blood in a near unconscious state."

"And you lot are connected with him. Through dreams and visions?" The vampire looked away. "Answer me." Angel demanded. "I heard you say some pretty interesting things in your sleep this morning."

"Yes, he sends us dreams."

"And what did he have to say?"

The vampire sneered bitterly. "He will awaken this afternoon. A select few of us are to bring him fresh blood. The Harvest grows nearer. He will be disappointed if I am not present when he awakens. He will send search parties, legions of vampires tearing this town apart."

Angel sneered. "Please. You think I was born yesterday? This century even?" He snatched a water pistol from his coat pocket and squirted a stream into the vampire's deformed face. The vampire screamed in agony.

"The Harvest grows nearer!" the creature screamed manically. "His champion Luke will personally release me from this confinement, and the Old Ones will reign once more!"

"Funny how nobody's bothered looking for you yet." Angel said coldly. "Seems to me if you were expected to be the Master's guest of honor in his awakening ceremony, someone should have come for you by now." The vampire lowered its yellowed eyes. "Seems to me, you're just a lowly minion." Angel continued. "A flunky, a loser or whatever title the Master might like to give you."

"I thirst," the creature begged.

"Afterwards." Angel said. "So the Master awakens once in a while to feed, but is otherwise trapped in a nexus between earth and hell?"

"Correct."

"And he got himself into this state by trying to open the Hellmouth in the thirties?"

"Yes."

"And if he were to be released, the gateway to hell would open, and the Old Ones would return. And he plans to do this during the Harvest. Tell me more."

"The Harvest is a ritual that may only be performed once every hundred years. The Master will imbue a vampire with his essence. The vampire will become his vessel. When the vessel feeds, his spirit will be nourished, and with enough nourishment, the Master will break free of his confinement, and the Hellmouth will be torn open."

"And I assume dusting the vessel will stop the ritual."

"Yes."

"Where will the Harvest take place?" Angel continued.

"I do not know. Traditionally it is done in an enclosed space. A place that is already frequented by humans would be ideal, preferably if they are young and weak."

"Any idea who this vessel might be?"

The vampire paused for a moment. Over the course of the past week, he'd been kidnapped, beaten, and tortured for information. At first, he'd tried to resist, but Angel soon broke his resolve. Angel had been a master of torture in his day, and employed every possible mean to torment his captive into submission. Beatings, holy water, and starvation were just a small handful of the methods employed to extract information from the demented beast. At last, the hungry vampire saw his advantage over Angel. The vampire knew that Luke would be the vessel. Angel didn't. The vampire also knew a little about Angel's personal history.

"Well?" Angel demanded? "Who is the Master going to use as his vessel?"

"Darla will be the vessel," the creature lied.

Angel was taken aback by this news. "_Whistler never said I'd have to face **her,**_"he thought.

Angel tossed the vampire the satchel of blood. The creature ripped it open with his fangs and began feasting greedily. Angel walked over to his apartment window where the thick grey drapes blocked out the sun. "Thank you." He said gratefully to his captive. "You've been most helpful." He waited silently whilst the vampire enjoyed its last meal. Angel spent the next few minutes staring silently at his drapes whilst the room was filled with the grotesque sound of the vampire slurping the animal blood from the bag. After the last few drops of blood had been drained, Angel flung back his drapes, showering the room with sunlight. He quickly stepped back into the shadows as the vampire before him burst into flames.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sunnydale High library, Sunnydale, California**

A dark haired boy of about fifteen approached the library desk. Mr. Giles quickly stopped scribbling in his diary and smiled at the youth. "Hello there," he smiled warmly. Giles was glad to see that at least _some_ youths these days were still reading books. He'd been librarian for a week so far, and had been appalled at the lack of books the students had been checking out.

"Hey." The young student placed the book on the counter for Giles to stamp and enter the details into the dreadful computer.

"Mister Harris," Giles read the name off the boy's student card. "You'd like to check out _The Pagan Rites_? And you are aware that your other book, _Witches: Historic Roots to Modern Practice _is due back in three days?"

"Uh, yeah," The Harris boy replied nervously. "Actually, maybe I should get that one renewed."

Giles hit a few keystrokes, in an attempt to renew the boy's book. He failed, and struck the keys a few more times. He shook his head in frustration. _Nothing_ was going right. Why did he have to use that vile machine? He'd been a librarian for years and had always managed just fine before computers had come into the scene to mess everything up. A dozen angry thoughts rushed through Giles mind. _She should be here by now._

"I'm sorry," he said calmly. "It appears that I'm having a slight technical difficulty. Your name is Alexander Harris, correct?"

"Just call me Xander." The boy replied.

Giles nodded. "So, this subject is of interest to you?" He asked, gesturing at Xander's pagan book.

"Yes. I mean, not really." Xander shifted uncomfortably. "Mostly just… researching. For school. Because that's where I … uh, go."

"I see." Giles replied dryly. He noticed that the boy's answer was needlessly awkward. He'd be sure to keep an eye on him. Magicks were a dangerous thing to play around with, something Giles could attest to from his own ill spent youth. The boy wasn't a huge concern though. None of the schoolbooks contained any dangerous spells, and it was more than likely that the boy only wanted to check out the books so that he could ogle the semi-nude engraving of women scattered throughout the pages. That would explain why his obvious discomfort. "Well, it appears that I can check out this book for you, but I need your other book to be present before I can renew it. It's this horrible machine you see."

Xander broke into a grin. "Yeah, computers are a lot like women. We're never going to understand how they work."

"Charming Alexander," Said a female voice. Neither Giles nor Xander had noticed the third figure enter the room. She was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties dressed in neat casual clothing, her dark hair tied loosely behind her shoulders.

"Ms. Calendar! Hey." Xander blushed deeply.

"Maybe if you'd come to class once in a while you might learn a thing or two," the woman scolded Xander. "About computers I mean. You're correct in that you'll probably never understand women," she joked.

Giles smiled, "Can I help you?"

"Just thought I'd stop by and see if the new computer textbooks have arrived yet, which they haven't. You must be Mr. Giles the new librarian?"

"Ah, yes. Rupert Giles." He extended his hand towards her, and she shook it.

"I'm Jenny Calendar. I'm head of Info Tech."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"You too. Perhaps I can help you with your computer problem?"

"Oh, I'm quite alright," Giles responded. He deeply resented being assisted in the library, which was _his_ area of expertise. "I've just told Mr. Harris that he'll just have to wait until tomorrow before he can renew his book."

"I should be able to work around that." Ms. Calendar insisted. "May I?"

"Of course." Giles responded bitterly. Ms. Calendar stepped behind Giles desk, and with a few quick keystrokes, had renewed Xander's book.

"Witches?" Jenny asked Xander. "_Historic Roots to Modern Practice_?"

"It's for school," Xander replied lamely.

"Yes, I believe he goes there," Giles teased.

Jenny smiled. "And if he ever wants to leave, he'll have to pass all his tests at the end of the semester. I'll see you in class Alex? On time?"

"Of course." Xander replied. "Willow would kill me if I missed another one."

"It's good to see your friends are making sure you pass."

The name Willow sounded instantly familiar to Giles. She was the only student who had frequented the library on a regular basis. He'd gotten to know her a little over the past week. She was a very quiet, shy little girl. Whenever he saw her, Giles made an effort to strike up a conversation. As it turned out, the library was one of the few places in the school that Willow could take refuge from that nasty Chase girl. _Cordelia, or something like that._ Giles was relieved to learn that she had at least one friend, even if it was this strange Xander.

"Well, I'd best be off then," Xander said. "Great meeting you Mr. Giles." He hurried out of the library.

"So, not a fan of computers?" Jenny turned to Giles.

"I fail to see why something is _better_ simply because it's _newer_." He responded stuffily.

"Each to their own I guess," Jenny responded with a grin. "My office is over by the computer labs, feel free to stop by if you need any help with the computer."

"Thank you," Giles said stiffly.

"I should be going too," Jenny said. "It was nice to meet you."

"You too," Giles lied.

Jenny left the library and Giles stood alone for a few minutes glaring at his computer. The Master would probably be awakening any day now, if it hadn't already happened. "The slayer should _be_ here," he muttered quietly to himself. If he hadn't heard anything by the end of the day, he decided that he would call the Council. If they didn't get off their lazy British backsides and _do_ something… Giles had no idea what he could do. He briefly entertained the thought of resigning and becoming a rogue demon hunter. No. That wouldn't do at all. No need to go about breaking rules if there wasn't any need. The Watcher's council surely knew what they were doing. After all, they were the _Council._ All the same, calling them and checking the status of the slayer surely couldn't do any harm.


	4. Chapter 4

It was lunchtime. Xander and Jesse were sitting at the usual spot, as Willow approached them. Willow was a slight girl with red hair, always modestly dressed. Xander was dark haired, well built, but still fairly socially awkward. Xander's best friend Jesse was perhaps even more awkward around girls, with the exception of close friends like Willow with whom both boys felt comfortable around. Jesse had brown hair and was quite lanky. Together the three of them formed the "_We hate Cordelia_ Club", although Jesse made no secret of the crush he'd harbored over Cordy since the beginning of High School.

"Hey guys", greeted Willow.

"Hey Will." Xander cheerfully replied. "How's math?"

"Dull as usual," Willow lied.

"Maths?" Mocked Jesse. "Dull?"

"Okay," gushed Willow. "It was awesome! We learnt all about how subtracting an integer is the same as adding its opposite."

"Huh." Jessie replied. "And here we were thinking it was dull."

"Totally glad we dropped that class, right." Said Xander.

"Totally." Jesse agreed.

"You're not going to blow off Info Tech again, are you Xander?" Willow asked her friend with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not!" said Xander. "Computers are the way of the future. Gotta master them before they master us. Wouldn't miss Info Tech for the world. Well, that and I ran into Ms. Callender at the library."

"Dude, you were at the library?" scoffed Jesse.

"I was only there to ask for directions away from the place," said Xander with mock rationalization. Have you guys met the new librarian? Talk about weird."

"Haven't met him." Said Jesse.

"Mr. Giles is really nice! He's always really cool whenever I'm in the library." said Willow. "Plus I help him out from time to time with his computer."

"Sure, he's nice enough," said Xander, "But am I the only one getting a creepy Sean Connery vibe from the guy? He's so… old. And Brittish."

"Connery's Scottish you dork." Jesse teased.

"He's not old!" Willow said defensively. "He'd be forty at most. And the British thing is _not_ creepy."

"Sound's like Willow has a crush," Xander teased.

"That's gross," she replied.

"So why else would you spend so much time in the library?" Jesse said with a smirk.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Because unlike you two, I actually care about my education."

"So do I!" said Xander. "I was at the libraray! I even got a book!"

"I thought you were asking for directions," reminded Willow. "What book did you get?"

"_Green Eggs and Ham,_" lied Xander.

"Ah," said Jesse. "Digging into the classics I see. Don't let anyone ruin the twist ending for you."

"You losers are in my seat!" chimed in a fourth more angry voice. It was Cordelia Chase, the most popular girl in Sunnydale High. Behind her were her friends, or the closest thing she had. They followed her around, agreed with everything she said, and had equally rich parents.

"Cordy, you're welcome to sit in my lap," offered Jesse. Cordelia rolled here eyes in disgust.

"Maybe we should go someplace else?" Willow asked Xander.

"No way." Xander responded. "You girls _know_ we always sit here."

"Well yeah," began Harmony, Cordelia's blonde brainless best friend, "But that's when football is out of season and it's in season today! We want to see Larry play!"

"Well that's really going to convince me." Xander replied sarcastically.

"We could arrange for Larry to kick your ass." Cordelia threatened.

This struck a note with Xander, whom Larry had bullied all throughout high school. "Go for it." Xander scoffed with false bravado. "Of course you lot will have to cheer him on with your slutty skirts and pompoms. Otherwise he'd be too scared to come out of his closet."

"We'll be sure to tell him that," said Cordelia as she and her friends stalked off in the direction of the girl's locker room.

"Dude!" said Jesse. "Talk about awesome. You totally put the Cordettes in their place!"

"Uh, thanks" replied Xander. "Of course now I'm going to get my ass kicked."

"I thought it was really brave," Willow gushed. Moments like that were why she loved Xander. Larry would kick his ass, but Xander had said it anyway. He may not be popular or good at sports, but Xander was fiercely loyal to anyone who threatened his friends. Willow had been in love with him since she was five years old. Sadly, Xander never seemed to notice that she wanted more than friendship with him. Willow was far too shy to ever talk to Xander about her feelings, so for most of her life she remained merely his friend, but always clung to the tiny lingering hope that someday he'd truly notice her, and she could be something more.

* * *

"Who do those losers think they are!" fumed Cordelia as she entered the locker room. She tossed her brown hair angrily. Xander was completely beneath her, but it infuriated her that he had the gall to talk back to her like that. She was so used to having boys fawn all over her, doing whatever she wanted. "Those seats are totally ours." Perhaps she should have asked Jesse to move instead of slamming the whole group at once.

"I know," agreed Harmony. "It's so unfair."

"Do you think Larry likes me?" asked Aphrodesia.

"No." Said Cordy with absolute bluntness.

Aphrodesia opened her locker and gazed at herself in the mirror. "As if. You're only saying that because you want him for yourself. Right Aura?"

"…sure" Aura said absently as she searched her handbag for her locker key.

"As if I'd want an ape like Larry!" Cordelia said with a cackling laugh. Sure he's good at football and everything, but have you _tried_ having a conversation with him?"

"Who wants a _conversation_" asked Harmony. "That's what losers are for. Right Aura?"

"Totally." Aura agreed as she continuted to search for her key.

"Hurry up, Aura." Cordelia insisted.

"I can't find my key." Aura explained.

"Let me try mine." Cordelia offered. "Most of these cheap lockers use the same key. I swear someone stole my lipstick last month." Cordelia put her key into Aura's locker and there was a satisfying click as the lock was unhitched. "See?"

"Thanks Cordy!" beamed Aura. "You're the best!"

Aura opened her locker and screamed.

Crammed into her locker was the pale corpse of a brown haired young man, two puncture wounds on the side of his neck, his mouth frozen in a silent scream. He spent the last minutes of his life trying to seduce a blonde. The first people to discover his corpse were a group of stunning young women. In a way, the guy would have been pleased.

The group of girls ran from the locker room screaming.


	5. Chapter 5

**Mayor's office, Sunnydale, California**

**1937**

It was a cold evening in 1937 and the mayor of Sunnydale was reflecting upon the events of the past half hour. "I don't care for that Master fellow." Richard Wilkins the second said to his aide. "Not at all."

An awkward silence filled the room before the mayor's aide spoke at last. "I assure you sir, we weren't in any danger."

"Of course we weren't." agreed Mayor Wilkins the second. "Not with the hospitality and good manners I showed him, even if he did just come storming in here making demands."

The mayor's aide shifted uncomfortably. "I was thinking more along the lines of that anti-demon violence spell we had installed."

"Ah yes, of course." Wilkins replied absently.

"Well sir, what do you propose we do about this situation?" the mayor's aide asked. "His plans for opening the Hellmouth certainly seem to conflict with your Ascension."

Mayor Wilkins unwrapped a cloth and carefully began polishing his desk. "Indeed it would. The old church was where he was headed, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Can't blame the guy for admiring the Old Ones," the mayor said fondly. "They were fantastic creatures. You ever heard of Olvikan?"

"No sir."

"Olvikan was a marvelous beast, a great big snake demon."

"I see, sir." The mayor's aide produced a cigar from his pocket. "Do you mind if I…"

"Not inside, if you please." Mayor Wilkins the Second said disapprovingly. "Now, as much as I respect what this Master vamp guy is trying to do… it just doesn't sit well with me. He wasn't all that polite, and besides, the apocalypse would ruin my Ascension, as you've kindly pointed out."

"How do you propose we stop him?" The aide asked the mayor.

"Well, remember that earthquake we used to stop that Proserpexa cult from ending the world about five years ago? Swallowed the entire temple?"

"Do you propose we perform another earthquake sir?"

"Well," the Mayor Richard the second grinned. "After being trapped underground for a few decades I think this town's newest –and _oldest_ resident will have quite some time to reflect on things. Heck, if he admires the Old Ones so much, I might hold him in higher esteem after all's said and done. But first he needs a bit of a time out."

* * *

**Hemery High School, Los Angeles, California**

**1996**

_Holy hideous sideburns! _thought Buffy Summers as the stocky man in the grey suit approached her. She was sitting on the steps outside her high school waiting for Jeffrey to finish basketball practice. She grinned as she shoved the lime flavoured lollypop into her mouth. At the end of the semester, she'd be attending the school dance with Jeffry, -the coolest boyfriend ever. Life just couldn't get any better.

Buffy frowned as the grey suited man walked over to her. "Buffy Summers." the man said sternly to her. It wasn't a question, it was almost a command. "I need to speak to you."

"You're not from Macy's are you?" Buffy asked slightly worried. "'Cause, I meant to pay for that lipstick."

"There isn't much time." The man said, his walrus mustache bristling as he ignored her statement about the lipstick. "You must come with me, your destiny awaits."

Buffy stood up and started to walk away, more than a little creeped out by this man. "I don't have a destiny." She said tossing her blonde hair back. "I'm destiny free, really."

"Yes, you have." the man insisted as he followed her. "You are the Chosen One. You alone can stop them."

"Who?" she stopped to ask.

"The Vampires." A cold chill ran down Buffy's spine.

"Huh?" Buffy said plucking the lollypop out of her mouth, keeping up the charade of the popular airhead, the mask she'd been wearing her whole life.

"My name is Merrick." The man said. "I was sent to find you some time ago, but there were... complications. You should have been taught -prepared. Now, you must come with me to the cemetary while there's still time."

Buffy took a deep breath and looked right at the man. "Let me get this straight. You're like, some kind of maniac and I have to go to the cemetary with you 'cause I'm Chosen and there are vampires?"

"Yes." Merrick replied, ignoring the skepticism in her voice.

"Does Elvis talk to you?" Buffy asked with a grin. "Does he tell you to do things? Do you see spots? Just stay away from me, okay?"

Merrick frowned. Convincing the girls of their destiny always had proved to be the hardest part, even when they weren't a complete and utter ditz such as this one. "Did you ever dream that you were someone else?" He asked her as she started to walk away again.

She stopped. "Everybody does." she said defensivly.

"In the past, a girl maybe..." Merrick continued. "A Magyar peasant. An Indian princess, a prostitute in China."

Buffy gasped. "God, I never told anyone about that. What is this, some kind of channeling or something?"

"It's you Buffy." Merrick responded. "Your dreams are merely your own self trying to remind you who you are and warn you perhaps of the great evil rising there. Is there a common thread in these dreams? Something that occurs in all of them?"

"I'm always fighting... killing these monsters... and... okay this is weird. In all the dreams I'm a different person, but the monsters, the vampires all call me the same thing."

"_Slayer_." Merrick said knowingly.

"God, it's all true isn't it?" Buffy said with dispair. "This is _not_ my day."

* * *

**Underground church, Sunnydale, California**

**Present day (aka, 1997)**

"The sleeper will wake," chanted the vampire Luke. "The sleeper will wake," he repeated. "The sleeper will wake and the world will bleed. Amen!"

The underground cavern was filled with vampires; most of the Order was here. The Order of Aurelius had waited years for this moment. Their beloved Master would once again awaken and sanctify them with his presence. For years Luke, the Master's most loyal acolyte had been leading the order in the Master's place, ever since the terrible earthquake in 1937.

Everything should have been perfect. The highest ranking vampires from the cult had gathered in the church to witness the ritual, performed by the Master himself. Finally the plague of humanity would be ended, and the Old Ones, the purest of demons would return. In The Beginning, the world had belonged to them. The Old Ones, reigned supreme over the Earth, majestically towering over the lesser demons and the vampires. Back then, humans had barely finished evolving into the weak, apelike species they were today. They would be kept as cattle, devoured by the hundreds. At some point in time the Nightmares had sprung forth from the human's primitive minds, a wonderful race of beings that would walk and dance, skewering human victims all for the amusement of the Old Ones and their vampiric children. Now the Nightmares had been confined to the human subconscious, and the Old Ones banished from the Earth completely. The Master sought to change all that. He'd spent the better part of a century seeking the knowledge and power to open the Hellmouth. His acolytes followed him like they would a god. How disappointed they were, when the very day his plans were to come to fruitarian, the ritual was interrupted by a terrible quake, the earth swallowing the vampires, and the Master sucked into the portal that had opened for a few fleeting moments.

Luke was one of the few vampires able to survive the fall of the church. He clawed his way out of the earth, and gathered every last Aurelian from across the globe. His resolve hardened, Luke had vowed to lead the Order until the Master could be freed.

Luke gazed about him at the other vampires in the underground cavern. Some held torches, others candles. All of them wore their demonic visage, eager to appease their true leader, whose body currently lay motionless at the bottom of a shallow pool of blood before them. His spirit and consciousness had been drifting for years among the Old Ones, barely aware of his vulnerable corpse. Over the past few months, The Master felt himself being drawn back to the Earthly plain. His acolytes had cared for his body, immersing it in blood to sustain it, meditating and praying for his return. _The Harvest. It must be upon us._ He thought as his consciousness was whisked away from hell, and his body stirred.

Luke watched in awe as his beloved Master slowly rose from his pool of blood. The bald vampire looked exactly as he did back in 1937. His minions had done a remarkable job in preserving his body. His fangs and talons were still strong, his pasty white skin unharmed. Even his leather jumpsuit still perfectly intact. Few other vampires were cunning enough to survive as long as the Master. The Master was so old that he had lost his ability to appear human, his demonic face permanently reflecting the soullessness within.

"Master!" cried Luke.

"I am weak." The Master spoke unashamed. While no harm had come to the Master's physical body, the comatose years spent in the netherworld had taken their toll on the Master's demonic spirit. Like the other vampires, the Master could sense the Hellmouth, but he was powerless to leave it. He had been awakened on the Earthly plane, but his spirit was still tethered to hell, and his freedom had been restricted to roughly seven feet from the pool of blood.

"In the Harvest, _he_ will be restored." Luke quoted from an ancient Auralian scripture. Luke's words were a comfort to the Master. While Darla would always be the Master's favorite childe, Luke had always been such a loyal, devoted acolyte. The Master was glad that he had sired him. Luke had been an excellent bodyguard over the years, his burly strength matched by very few other vampires, and rivaled that of a slayer.

"The Harvest…" The Master repeated.

"We're almost there," Luke assured his sire "Soon you'll be free!"

The Master took several steps forward and stretched out his arm. The air shimmered at his touch, confining him. The Master was still trapped within the sunken remains of the church. "I must be ready." He reminded Luke. "I need my strength."

"I've sent your servants to bring you some food."

"Good." Such a faithful minion. He would make a fine vessel. "Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Bring me something… young."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Angel's apartment, Sunnydale, California**

Angel had been sitting silently in the dark of for hours, feeling even more disgusted with himself than usual. All that remained of his captive vampire was a pile of black ash and a scorch mark scarring his apartment floor.

The Harvest was approaching. He'd seen and done some terrible things over the course of his life, but the though of seeing Darla again terrified him. Whistler never mentioned anything about Darla. After years of living a filthy homeless life in the gutters of Los Angeles, Angel was barely stable enough to integrate himself back into human society. There was no way he was emotionally prepared to face Darla again at such short notice.

Even if he _could_ muster up enough courage to face her, he was certain to lose the very short fight. Darla was a master of combat, and although Angel was an expert himself, he was sorely out of practice, and lacked the resolve that Darla would be sure to have. With enough preparation and practice, Angel could probably take her out, but in his current state, Angel had neither. And if she were imbued with The Master's essence, she'd probably be even stronger. There was no way Angel would be able to face her before The Harvest. That was a job for the slayer. _Why isn't she here yet?_

Soon it would be sundown, the perfect time to patrol for vampires, and search for any sign that the slayer might have arrived. He decided that while he was out, he may as well pick up some cleaning products for his apartment floor. It would take something pretty strong to scrub out the foul smelling ash that the vampire had combusted into. _Should have used a stake_ Angel mused.

The past week had been hell. Vampires everywhere, no sign of the slayer, and no guidance whatsoever. Worst of all, Angel had been forced to resume his role as a torturer. It was Whistler who pulled him out of the gutters, Whistler who tried to tell him how hard it would be. "_The more you live in this world, the more you'll see how apart from it you really are_" were his words. They couldn't have been spoken any truer.

Angel's apartment was on the ugly side of town which suited him just fine. For one thing, rent was cheap. And it got dark a little earlier than usual; mostly thanks to pollution from a nearby factory. Best of all, nobody asked questions. The building was full of drug addicts, prostitutes and other Sunnydale residents that nobody wanted to notice. Nobody would complain about the foul, burnt smell emanating from Angel's apartment. Everyone in this building had a skeleton or two in their own in their closet. When people are concerned with keeping their own head low, they aren't going to be overly concerned with someone else who has a secret. Shady characters were a dime a dozen in this neighborhood, so it was one of the few places where Angel could fit in without a problem.

Angel tried to put the past week behind him. The information he'd extracted from the vampire had proved to be vital and torture was the only way of forcing information out of a vamp. He tried to convince himself that he'd only tortured a demon, a beast in a human shell, nothing more. In the end, it didn't matter. It wasn't the pain he inflicted on the creature that nagged at Angel's conscience. What truly stung Angel from within was the way a sick, perverted part of him had still enjoyed it. Wasn't that why he chose the gutter life in the first place, to remove temptation? What use was it, trying to atone for past sins, if he had to re-enact them? He longed for redemption, and was sickened that his first few steps on the path to righteousness had led him to inflict brutal pain on another creature. Hadn't he done enough of that already? His thoughts were interrupted as his door was kicked open.

Three figures entered the room. Angel could instantly sense that two of them were vampires. The third figure appeared to be human. Angel leapt from his chair and assumed an attack stance. He was outnumbered, and the vampires were armed with crossbows. All three figures were well dressed.

"Hello." The human smiled warmly. He was dressed in a neat business suit, a tie and finely polished shoes. The man appeared to be middle aged with a slightly receding hairline. "Sorry to just barge in here like this, but I need your help with something." He extended his hand toward Angel. Angel did not shake it. "Ah. Not the friendly type. I heard as much. Still, can't blame a guy for trying right?"

"Who the hell are you?" Angel demanded.

"I'm Richard Wilkins the third, Mayor of Sunnydale. And you must be Mr. Angel."

"It's just Angel."

"Formerly Angelus, correct?"

"That's right." Angel tensed.

The two vampires aimed their weapons at him. Angel made a quick mental assessment of the situation. He could probably smash a chair before the vampires could react, and if he was lucky, he could toss one of the broken legs into the chest of the vamp on the left. By that stage the vamp on the right would fire… and what of the human? Judging by the company he kept, he was probably not the pinnacle of morality… but he was human nonetheless. Was it Angel's duty to protect him? What would The Powers want him to do? Whistler never mentioned anything like this…

The Mayor motioned to the ring of sand on Angel's floor, encircling the pile of stinking soot. The man chuckled. "Been entertaining I see?" as he motioned towards the mess.

"Vampire." Angel responded. "Starved him for while then let the sun in." He stared down the two vampires looming behind the Mayor. Both were visibly disturbed by this revelation.

"As I said before," beamed the Mayor. "I do apologize for the suddenness of our visit. I imagine you'd probably have tidied the place up if you were expecting."

"I'd have baked a cake." Angel said sarcastically.

"I _do _feel simply awful for just imposing myself like this. Boys, you can lower your weapons. I hope you don't take any offence to my bodyguards here. It's just that I do have certain pressing responsibilities, and you just can't be too careful in this area."

"Yeah, you never know what kind of demonic scum you might run into." Angel replied.

"You'd be one to talk Angelus," snarled the vampire on the left, speaking for the first time since entering Angel's apartment.

"Now, now boys," said Mayor Wilkins. "You know how the saying goes. 'If you haven't got anything nice to say…'"

"So, I guess the flunky did have some truth to his story." Angel said. There was no way he could get past the vampires, he needed an opening. Keep them talking and wait for an opportunity.

"Seems you've lost me there," Mr. Wilkins said.

"The vampire I torched. He said you'd come for him. That he'd be missed if he wasn't present for the Master's awakening."

Once again, The Mayor of Sunnydale broke into a chuckle, seemingly oblivious of how deadly serious the other three figures in the room were. "Oh, no. We're not in any way affiliated with the Order of Auralius. These guys work for me of their own accord. We're not in the least interested in The Master's kooky traditions and rituals."

"Well then. I guess the whelp was just a lowly minion after all."

"Seems so. Funny you should mention the Master. See, he's the central figure of this little conundrum I'm having. I figure you'd be the one to get me out of this pickle."

"And why should I do that?"

"Well, normally the task would best be left to a slayer, but seeing as how she's not here-"

"-What do you know about Buffy?" Angel interrupted.

"Little more than you do actually," said the Mayor. "Blonde girl, born in LA, the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to fight the vampires. We know about how her first watcher died, about how she fought and killed the vampire lord Lothos. My sources in LA have told me about your part in this tale too."

"Is that so?" asked Angel. This news did not please him in the least.

"It is indeed. Spent quite a few years among the rats, am I correct? Trying to punish yourself for all the lives you've taken? All the suffering you've caused for your own amusement?"

"Been stalking me you sick bastard?"

"Language, please!" exclaimed the Mayor. "Just stating the facts. So one day, you get approached by a fellow working for the Higher Powers. Whistler, I believe was his name. He tells you to get up of your backside, quit moping and _do_ something with your life. And you did! I mean, this little apartment is no Buckingham Palace, but I'll bet it sure beats life on the streets, right?"

"It's where the heart is." Angel replied sarcastically.

"So this Whistler fellow gives you a mission." Mayor Wilkins continued, "He shows you a girl. The slayer, just been chosen from a pool of potentials, right after the previous one died a probably gruesome death. Buffy Anne Summers, is her name. You watch this girl from the shadows and… feelings start to develop as they do-"

"-Get to the point old man."

"Well gosh, I do tend to ramble," the Mayor chuckled. "So you watch Buffy kill her first vampire, and develop into a warrior all without interfering yourself. But you were there the whole time to keep her safe. Even after her Watcher died. After slaying Lothos, and burning down her school gymnasium, the family had to move."

"Yeah, I already know that much." Said Angel, "She was supposed to move here. She should be here already."

"Well, that's exactly what _my_ sources told me. She was scheduled to arrive a few days ago, and the timing couldn't have been better. She could have stopped the Harvest, and everything would be fine and dandy until the _next_ big bad comes along. Would have worked out just plum."

"So where is she?"

"Turns out, she moved to Cleveland instead."

Angel was floored. "_What?_"

"I was a shocked as you are. All signs pointed to her moving to this fine town, but at the last moment, something completely unforeseen must have come into play and now she's in Cleveland with a new watcher. They've got their very own Hellmouth over there too you know."

"She's not coming…"

"Unfortunately not. So tell me Angel, how much do you know about The Harvest?"

"That it's going to happen soon. That the Master will rise, and Hell is going to follow him."

"That's right!" shone The Mayor. "The Old Ones. The original purebred demons from the dawn of time. When The Master comes back into this world, he's gonna leave the gate open for them. You know much about Old Ones, Angel?"

"Not really."

"Truly amazing creatures, the Old Ones. The whole planet once belonged to them. Can you imagine that, Angel, the whole planet! They were banished into Hell when humans started to evolve, and they've been unable to find their way back ever since. Of course they left their mark behind didn't they boys?"

"Sure did, sir." One of the vampires replied.

"You know, there was this one Old One, named Illyria. Able to wind back time itself! Isn't that marvelous?"

"That's truly fascinating," Angel said, making no effort to hide his annoyance.

"Unfortunately for this town, the purebred demons are pretty big. They're monsters. And they tend to enjoy destroying things. If the Hellmouth opens, and the Old Ones get out it's gonna be a whole world of trouble. Matter of minutes and the town will be nothing but a pile of rubble. Whole buildings will get knocked around like children's toys. And they won't stop with Sunnydale either. I'd give it a day, tops before the Old Ones took over the whole gosh-darn planet."

"And you want me to stop that from happening." Angel thought out loud.

"Well that's up to you." The Mayor answered. "Saving the world? I'd say that would weigh in pretty heavy against some of the other unseemly stuff you've done."

Angel pretended that the Mayor's words didn't affect him, but a chance of possible redemption enticed Angel. The world could be saved. Would it be enough? Could he be forgiven for his days as Angelus?

"What do I need to do?" Angel asked the Mayor.

"Well, we've got a couple of options," the Mayor began. "As you already know, the Master is going to choose a vessel to feed for him. It's going to be a massacre that will nourish the Master's spirit and he'll be able to break down the barrier holding him in the earth. If you put a stake in the vampire vessel, The Harvest won't happen and the Hellmouth will stay closed. We're not sure who the vessel will be though."

"It's going to be Darla." Angel said flatly. "And I can't beat her."

"Can't beat her, or won't face her?" Mayor Wilkins probed.

"Doesn't matter." Angel retorted. "How else can I keep the Hellmouth from opening?"

"Well, I happen to posses a unique crystal that can harness mystical energy, and dissipate it elsewhere. It's called a _phlabotnum crystal _of all things. Now, the when the Hellmouth tries to open, it's going to be generating a heck of a lot of energy. Using the proper rituals, and my magic crystal, we can filter away the energy, leaving the Hellmouth closed."

"And it'll also stop The Master from escaping the Hellmouth?" Angel asked.

"Well, that's just the thing," began Mayor Wilkins the third. "The Harvest massacre will still happen unless you stop it. The Master will still get enough nourishment to break free. The only thing the _phlabotnum_ _crystal_ does is filter away the Hellmouth energy. The Master will still be free, but the Hellmouth won't open as a result. I imagine that'll put quite the damper on his day. Or night, as would be more correct."

"How do I perform the ritual?" Angel asked.

The Mayor sighed. "Really Angel, I'd much prefer you to just stake the vessel. It'd kill two birds with one stone. It would trap the Master for another hundred years, and the Hellmouth would still stay closed. That's option number one. Option number two, is where you chicken out of the fight and use my _phlabotnum_ _crystal_ in the ritual. It'll still keep the Hellmouth closed, but The Master would be walking free. Which means I'll have to deal with him myself. Being Mayor and protector of Sunnydale isn't all fun and games you know. There's a whole other world that people don't appreciate."

"That's too bad." Angel insisted. "I can't face Darla. I don't want the Master to be free either, but there really is nothing I can do about that. Saving the world will just have to do."

The Mayor accepted this. "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. The ritual will have to be performed tomorrow night, that's when The Harvest begins. I'll send someone over to help you perform the ritual. Best of luck, and many thanks."

Angel simply nodded.

With that, the Mayor and his two bodyguards tuned and left Angel alone in his apartment. Angel quickly shut the door behind them. He tried to process everything that had just happened. Tomorrow night, he was going to save the world. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was in Cleveland. Why? Whistler had assured him that she was moving to Sunnydale. The Mayor was among the minority of humans who knew about the supernatural world. He called himself the protector of the town, yet he employed vampires as bodyguards. Could he be trusted? For the time being, Angel had no choice. They both needed to prevent the Hellmouth from opening, for the sake of humanity. _But why would he employ demonic filth?_ Angel continued to wonder. _Surely that says a lot about his character._ Then again, Angel himself had just spent a week as a torturer for the greater good. Perhaps it was impossible for anyone to live on the Hellmouth without dabbling into morally dark areas. Angel spent the next few minutes pondering over that unsettling thought, and then left his apartment to get some cleaning fluid.


	7. Chapter 7

News of the corpse in Aura's locker spread throughout the school quickly. Principal Flutie made several incompetent attempts to dispel gossip, but this was all the more difficult when he himself was just as confused and frightened as some of the students. Over the course of his career, strange tragedy had struck the school several times, but never before had a corpse been left on school grounds, stuffed into a locker no less. Principal Flutie recognized the boy as a graduate from several years ago. Flutie had never liked the boy, he'd always been a troublemaker. Still, nobody deserved this. A thousand questions raced through Flutie's mind. He wondered why the boy was on school property in the first place. He wondered who the killer could have been and whether it was another student. Most of all he wondered if it would happen again.

The Police had been called, and anybody who had seen the body or known the boy was sent straight to the school councilor. While he waited for the police to arrive, Flutie ensured that the girl's locker room was confined, nobody was allowed into the room. Of course not being _allowed_ to do something didn't stop Mr. Giles from sneaking in anyway. The door had been locked, so he'd snuck around the building and checked the window. He let out a sigh when he discovered that the window had also been locked. He casually glanced around and picked up a nearby stone. _Damaging property and creeping into a girl's locker room._ Giles thought to himself. _And here I was thinking I left Ripper behind years ago._ He slammed the stone into the window, silently praying that nobody had noticed the sound of breaking glass. When he was satisfied that there were no passer-bys He clutched the windowsill, found a foothold and quickly launched himself into the room.

Giles quickly spotted the corpse of the young man lying between rows of lockers. He walked over and examined the body. The boy's neck had two deep puncture wounds, instantly confirming what Giles had feared. This boy had been killed by a vampire. Surrounding the twin holes in the boy's neck was the faintest trace of blood. Any similar injury to the boy's neck would have resulted in vast quantities of gushing blood, making the cleanup an extremely messy job. But boy's blood had been all but drained, a fact confirmed by the corpse's deathly pallor. Through his Watcher training, Giles deduced that it was highly unlikely that the corpse would rise as another vampire. For starters, the sire would have found a more careful place to store the body as the demon planted within the body gestated. Clearly whatever vampire attacked the boy did not mind in the least that if its victim's corpse were to be discovered. Furthermore, for a siring to take place, the vampire must first drain the victim of blood, then force the victim to in turn, feed from their own cold, dead veins, infecting them with the demonic disease.

The boy had been drained completely. If he'd been turned, his body lacked anything indicating that this was so. The boy's mouth lacked any trace of blood as did his pale, withered flesh. He'd been sucked dry and offered nothing in return. Just to be sure, Giles pulled a small silver cross from his pocket and pressed it gently to the boy's forehead for a few moments. As he pulled away, the cross had left no mark. The boy was definitely _not_ going to rise as a vampire. With that knowledge confirmed, Giles walked over to the window where he once again checked for people, then leapt out and quickly made his way back to the library.

* * *

"Willow!" Xander called out as he rushed to his friend. "Gym and Info Tech are cancelled. Did you hear about the extreme dead guy in Aura's locker?"

"Yeah," Willow replied. "Who would do something like that? It's horrible."

Jesse quickly rushed up to Xander and Willow. The three students were standing outside the school gymnasium when they'd heard the news.

"I take it gym's canceled?" Jesse asked his friends.

"Yeah." Willow responded. "You heard about the body in the girl's locker room?"

"Yeah," Jesse answered. "Everyone's talking about it. I'm glad it wasn't in your locker Willow,"

"That makes two of us," Willow shuddered.

"You okay, man?" Xander asked Jesse. "You look pretty shaken."

"It's fine. It's just that I can't believe we were talking to Aura and Cordy just a few minutes before a dead body dropped out at them. You think we should have been more polite or something?"

"The were trying to kick us out of our seats!" Xander exclaimed. "I'm sorry Cordy and Aura had to see a corpse, but polite really isn't a part of their vocabulary."

"Jesse, there was no way we could have known." Willow said.

"Yeah, I know," said Jesse. "But still. You think Cordy's okay?"

"Last I heard she was talking the school councilor," said Willow. "I suppose she'll be sent home after that. Mr. Flutie wouldn't expect her to stay at school after what she just saw."

"Look man, I'm sure she'll be fine," Xander agreed. "Couple of days time she'll be right as rain, picking on Willow, calling you Captain Gangly and getting her pet ape Larry to kick my ass. Everything will be just the way it was, I promise."

"She calls me Captain Gangly?" Jesse asked Xander with horror.

"Only when you make cow eyes at her," Xander teased.

"Hey, at least I'm out in the open about it," said Jesse. "Like you wouldn't go out with her if given the chance?"

"Not in this, nor any other reality." Xander insisted.

"Really, Jesse," Willow joked "Xander and I should revoke your membership from the club."

"The "_We hate Cordelia club_"? No, I'm still an adamant disliker of the girl," said Jesse. "But seriously, what a body. I could do without the personality, and the Cordettes that follow her around, but I defy you to find a better looking girl."

"True buddy." Xander agreed, oblivious of the look of disgust on Willow's face. "I can't wait for her to start cheerleader tryouts."

"Cordy _is_ really pretty," Willow interjected, "but there are more important things than looks, when will you guys learn that?" Xander was slightly taken aback, noticing that Willow's outburst was directed at him more so that Jesse.

"C'mon Will," said Xander. "We're just kidding around."

Willow sighed. "I know. But it sucks how everyone always gushes all over her, and I've never even had a boyfriend." Xander coughed. "Apart from you Xander," Willow added, "…when we were six. But Cordy is always making everyone's lives so miserable, especially mine. I mean, shouldn't being the most popular person alive be enough, without having to rub everyone's face in it?"

"Willow, you're pretty too." Jesse said with complete honesty. "And as far as personality goes, you blow Cordy and any other girl out of the water. Right Xander?"

"Right." Xander agreed. "And someday you'll find someone who appreciates that."

Willow blushed. "Thanks guys. I didn't mean to get all snappy like that. I know you two aren't shallow like all those other guys. Well, not completely. It's just that Cordy always makes me feel like dirt. This morning she said…" Willow looked down.

"Said what?" Xander asked.

"I don't remember." Willow lied, not wanting to go into the specific details. " Just that… um, do you guys think my clothes are ugly?" Willow struggled to fight back a small tear that was forming in here eye.

"Of course not, Will." Jesse said. Xander gave her a friendly hug.

"Willow," Xander began, "Seriously, don't listen to anything Cordy says. One day I'm sure she'll get what's coming to her."

"Yeah, maybe." Willow said. "I still feel sorry about what happened today though, with her and the other's finding that guy's body. I mean she might be _Cordy_, but nobody deserves to have to see that."

* * *

Meanwhile at the library, Giles was fuming. He picked up a thick, leather bound book entitled _Vampyr_. Giles violently tossed to book aside. _The Master must surely be awake by now,_ he thought. He was supposed to present the book to the slayer. _His slayer_. She was supposed to already be in Sunnydale. She was supposed to show up, enroll at Sunnydale High, stop The Harvest and kill the Master. That was the slayer's job, to fight the forces of darkness. Her Watcher's job, _Giles's_ job was to watch over her, train her and report frequently back to the Council. Giles picked up the telephone and dialed the number of the Watcher's Council in England.

"Hello," he said into the receiver when the phone in England had been picked up. "This is Rupert Giles, I'd like to speak to Mr. Travers; it's a matter of extreme urgency."

"Hold the line please," Said the receptionist in England.

After a brief pause, Giles was greeted by an all too familiar voice. "Mister Giles," Quinten Travers began on the other end of the line. "To what do I owe the pleasure at five o'clock in the morning?"

"Mister Travers," Giles greeted his superior. "I feel that I should inform you that the slayer has not arrived."

"She was due to arrive a few days ago, Mr. Giles." Travers said curtly. "Being a few days late is hardly cause for alarm."

"Normally I'd agree," Giles said into the telephone. "However, as I'm sure you are aware, The Master's Harvest ritual is due to take place very soon, and if I may be perfectly blunt, the slayer is in Cleveland."

"WHAT?" Mr. Travers bellowed into the telephone, making Giles jump slightly.

"Yes. I hadn't seen her about the school so I went to the principal to make a few enquiries. Apparently she was taken off the enrolment list at the last minute."

"I see." Mr. Travers said. "This is most problematic."

"Yes," Giles agreed. "Furthermore there has been a vampire attack right here on campus. I suspect it's to commemorate the upcoming Harvest."

"Most problematic indeed…" Mr. Travers continued on the other end of the line.

"Apparently the slayer's mother, Joyce Summers was offered a job at the Cleveland Museum of Art."

"Thank you Mr. Giles, this will be taken care of immediately."

"What should I do sir?" Giles asked tentatively.

"The best course of action, Mr. Giles would be to remain where you are. The town clearly needs defending and in the absence of the slayer, I feel that I can at least take solace that a watcher as capable as yourself is stationed there."

Giles gritted his teeth with anger. "And the slayer?" he asked into the telephone.

"That is no longer your concern, Mr. Giles."

"Very well," Giles sneered at his superior. "Good day Mr. Travers," he said. He slammed the telephone down without waiting for a response. "Bloody hell!" Giles screamed at the top of his lungs. His entire life he had been training for a chance that had just passed him by; the chance to serve as watcher to the slayer.

* * *

On the other side of the world, Quinton Travers sat in bed contemplating the situation. He was quite shocked at the way Giles had hung up on him. Nonetheless, he could understand the man's frustration. With this recent turn of events, it was now highly unlikely that Giles would _ever_ serve as watcher to the active slayer. It seemed like a lifetime ago when Travers had been a mentor to his own slayer. It was sad indeed that Giles would be deprived of that opportunity, yet he was also fortunate to be spared the heartache and pain that goes alongside it. The life of a slayer was violent and short-lived. Being active watcher was an experience that Travers would be ever grateful for, but it was one that he would be reluctant to repeat.

Once again, Travers picked up the telephone, and dialed several numbers. "Yes, this is Travers. Tell me, do we have a watcher stationed in Cleveland? Ah, good. Tell him he's been promoted."


	8. Chapter 8

**Sunnydale High library, Sunnydale**

Giles felt, to put it bluntly, completely screwed over. His whole life he'd been waiting and training for an oportunity that had passed him by in a matter of minutes. He had less than a day until The Harvest. Tomorrow night the world could literally end, and the Watcher's Council didn't seem to give a crap. In the meantime, he was expected to play the part of a highschool librarian. To make matters worse, the staff lounge was completely out of teabags. Upon returning to the library, Giles cast a glare to his computer moniter, which seemed to stare blankly back at him with innanimate smugness.

The lack of students in the library allowed Giles to spend several hours researching the Master and the Harvest. completely undisturbed. He learnt that the Order of Auralius celebrated the Harvest every century, and that the Master imbued a vampire, ussually his head acolyte Luke, with his essence. Luke would then glut himself with group of young adults, and the departed spirits would replenish the Master from afar. Last century Luke had consumed an entire slave colony while the Master was tracking down a wizard. The cenrury before that, Luke sealed off a brothel, and drained all the whores within. Each Harvest had several things in common, the Master himself was never present, Luke never left any survivors, and it always took place in an enclosed space. The primary human targets seemed to be teenagers and young adults.

Giles quickly shoved the book he was reading out of sight as he heard the library door swing open. Willow entered the library and approached Giles's desk.

"Hello Willow," He greeted the young redhead.

"Hi, Mr. Giles."

"What can I do for you?"

"Ms. Calendar just sent me by to see if the Info Tech textbooks had arrived yet."

Giles sighed. "No, not just yet."

"So… how are you finding the computer?"

"Dull beyond possible belief." Giles answered.

A smile spread across Willow's face. She was so young and innocent. She didn't deserve to die tomorrow night. "Guess I'll tell Ms. Calendar that they aren't in yet."

"Yes." A thought struck Giles. "So tell me Willow," he said in his best conversational tone, "what do you kids get up to these days? For ah, fun."

"Well, I like to program computers." She said. "…And read." She added after noticing Giles look of displeasure.

"That's wonderful," Giles said. "But isn't there er, someplace you like to gather in social groups? Some, confined place, obnoxiously loud and cheap?"

Willow looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. "Well there's _the Bronze_" she said. "It's the only nightclub in Sunnydale worth going to."

"And tomorrow is Friday. No doubt it will be packed."

"Yeah, there's supposed to be some really cool band playing. Everyone's gonna want to be there."

Giles felt his heart in his throat. He wanted more than anything to tell her to stay away from _the Bronze_, that it would be teeming with vampires and that the world would end. He wanted more than anything to save her.

"I see." He smiled a fake smile. "Just wondering what the youngsters were doing for fun these days. Good to know at least some of you are still reading though."

Willow smiled. There was something very strange about the way Mr. Giles was acting today. "Ok. Thanks Mr. Giles. I'd better go talk to Ms. Calendar about those text books."

Filled with despair, Giles watched her leave. The rest of the day seemed to crawl by.

* * *

**The Bronze, Sunnydale**

The Bronze was reasonably busy, of course not as packed as it would be tomorrow night, but there was a good crowd nonetheless. Xander, Willow and Jesse were all gathered at a table directly ajacent from the overhead balcony. Xander noticed Cordelia talking to some guy on the dance floor. Much as he disliked Cordelia on a personal level, a small part of Xander resented the fact that he was talking to her. Seeing other guys effortless pick up girls didn't help with Xander's self confidence, and seeing some jerk chattting up_ Cordelia_ of all people made him feel even smaller. Of course, had he known that the guy was planning to rape and murder her, Xander would undoubtably have disliked the guy even more than he already did.

He noticed several other attractive girls on the dance floor. One girl in particular stood out, a stunning blonde girl in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. Both her face and body got an A+ in Xander's mind, and she seemed to be staring straight at Jesse.

"Dude, that blonde girl is totally checking you out," Xander said as he nudged Jesse. "She's quite the hottie. You should go talk to her."

Jesse glanced across the room and saw the gorgeous blonde girl staring straight at him. He quickly stared down into his drink nervously.

Willow couldn't help but notice that the blonde girl at the other side of the club was undeniably attractive, and she did seem to be ogling Jesse. _At least she's not looking at Xander_, she thought. _I wonder if he'll **ever** notice me. Or if anyone will for that matter_. She noticed a familiar face as she looked up at the balcony."Hey look!" she said, pointing upward, "it's Mr. Giles!" the two boys looked up to the balcony overhead where Giles was standing, peering through the crowd as though looking for somebody. "We should go say hi."

"Yeah, we should." Agreed Xander. "And _you_," he patted Jesse on the back, "should go talk the hot Catholic schoolgirl."

"Fine," Jesse said with false bravado. "I'll show you how it's done."The two boys exchanged playful punches and all three teenagers stood up from their seats

Xander and Willow began to make their way up the stairs when Willow was tapped on the shoulder. Standing behind them was a thin, dark haired boy who appeared to be slightly older than Willow and Xander. His clothes were out of style, but he didn't appear to care at all. He reeked of attitude mystery. _This guy looks like he just stepped out of the 80's_, Xander thought.

"Hey," he said, smiling at Willow with confidence. "I'm Thomas. Care to dance?"

"um… sure," Willow said nervously. Her heart was beating hard against her chest; no boy had ever asked her to dance before. "You don't mind do you Xander?"

Xander broke into a grin. "'Course not Will. Have fun." _Wow, everyone's picking up tonight_ he thought. Maybe he'd try his luck with Cordy if the night kept on like this. He continued up the stairs and reached the balcony. There were very few people up here, so he instantly noticed Mr. Giles.

"Hey Giles, what's up?" Xander greeted the Brittish man.

"Oh, hello," said Giles, slightly surprised.

"So, you looking for someone?" Xander said, motioning the crowd below them. "Plenty of ladies out tonight." He added with a grin.

"Yes. I'd rather be home with a book and a cup of tea actually."

_Jeez, is this guy dull or what_ Xander thought to himself. "Well, I'm just going to go to the men's room if you'll excuse me."

"Alright. Good to see you Xander."

"You too man. 'Later." With that, Xander proceeded to head back downstairs to find the bathroom.

* * *

"So, um, what did you say your name was?" Jesse asked the blonde schoolgirl. He was now sitting with her after he lamely introduced himself and struck up a conversation. Yet she didn't seem to care about his obvious awkwardness. 

"Darla." She replied.

"You know, I haven't seen you around before. Are you from around here?"

"No, but I have family here."

"Have I met them?"

"You probably will," she said as a smile traced its way across her lips.

* * *

_There's one_. Thought Giles. He'd been studying a young man by the bar quite intently before he was interrupted by Xander. Of course he couldn't be sure, but Giles suspected that the young man he was studying was a vampire. Something about the way he moved was so predatory. The man had been talking to a young woman Giles now knew as Cordilea Chase. He went to the bar to get some drinks. Time for Giles to make his move. He quickly made his way down the stairs and over to the bar. He studied the young man more closely. His skin was deathly pale and there was definitely something sinister about the look in his eye. With one hand, Giles reached into his coat and clasped a small silver cross. With the other hand, he produced a wooden stake from his sleeve. He tapped the man on the shoulder. 

The man looked around at him. Giles smiled. "Hello." Giles said warmly. "I'm Rupert Giles, how do you do?" he reached out his hand in greeting, which the other man instinctively grasped. The man's hand was cold, but the cross Giles still held concealed in his palm was starting to heat up between their hands. The man tried to pull away but Giles held on hard. "Quite a shake you've got there," he teased the other man as the cross continued to heat up. The man groaned in agony and tore his hand away from Giles, the steaming silver cross clattering on the floor. Before the other man could react, Giles swung up his other arm and nailed the man right in the chest with his wooden stake.

No sooner had the vampire collapsed into a cloud of dust, Giles turned and quickly walked away, eyes turned to the ground to avoid the stares of anyone who might have noticed. He was quite surprised when he crashed into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Cordelia Chase glared at him before noticing who it was. "Oh my god, sorry Mr. Giles!" her face flushed. "I had no idea it was you!"

"That's quite alright," Giles said to Cordelia, "my fault entirely."

"I was just looking for this guy I was talking to a moment ago…" began Cordelia. "I don't suppose you've seen him? He was by the bar."

"Sorry, but no." Giles responded. "I was just by the bar, it's quite a mess. Dust everywhere."

* * *

Xander thought that he was alone in the bathroom as he proceeded to wash his hands and check his hair in the mirror. He turned to leave the bathroom when he bumped into someone. "Whoa!" Xander screamed. "Sorry, I didn't see you there." 

"That's okay." The other boy said. It was Thomas, the guy who had been dancing with Willow. There was something very strange about him, but Xander couldn't put his finger on it.

"So, how's things with Willow," Xander inquired.

"Great. We're heading out for ice cream. You should join us."

"Love to." Xander replied. _This guy seems decent enough_ Xander thought. "Holy crap!" he screamed in surprise. "Look in the mirror dude! You don't have a reflection! How freaky is -" Xander was knocked out cold as Thomas's fist connected with his face with superhuman strength.

He awoke several minutes later when some other guy helped him to his feet. "You okay dude?" a redhead guy asked him. Xander vaguely recognized the guy; he was in some band at school.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Xander replied groggily as he stared at himself in the mirror. The other guy, much to Xander's relief, also had a reflection.

"You been drinking?" the other guy asked.

"No." Xander replied clutching his head. I was in here, and some guy punched me or something.

"What an ass. Let's go get you some water and then we can see if the bouncer's saw this guy. Names's Oz."

"I'm Xander."

* * *

"Sure is dark." Willow said nervously. She still couldn't believe that this guy had noticed her. That he'd asked _her_ out to the ice cream bar. 

"It's night." Thomas replied bluntly. _The Bronze_ was already far behind them.

"Well that's a dark time, night. Traditionally. I still can't believe I've never seen you at school. Do you have Mr. Chromsky for history?"

Thomas ignored Willow's babbling as the pair stepped through the front gates of the Sunnydale graveyard.

"Uh, the ice cream bar is this way," Willow said, pointing in the opposite direction. It's past Hamilton Street."

"I know a short cut." Thomas insisted as he grabbed Willow's hand.

Willow and Thomas walked through the cemetery hand in hand. Willow was terrified, but was far to scared to make her way back to _the Bronze_ all alone.

"Okay… th -this is nice …and scary." She said as the two approached a mausoleum. "Are you sure this way is faster?"

"Hey! You ever been in one of these?" Thomas asked as he gestured the mausoleum.

"No. Thank you." Willow replied bluntly as she turned to walk away. Thomas was starting to scare her more than the graveyard. She decided to take a few calm steps and then run for it.

"Come on. What are you afraid of?" he asked as he grabbed her hair, yanking her forward and tossing her into the crypt. Willow stumbled down some stone steps and turned to face the doorway.

"That wasn't funny!" she screamed at Thomas. The older boy stepped towards her as she backed away. "I think I'm gonna go." She pleaded.

"Is that what you think?" Thomas sneered.

Willow couldn't stand still a moment longer. She ran. Adrenaline rushed through her as her heart pounded. In that moment she felt that she could plow straight through Thomas. Instead he stepped aside and allowed her to pass. Another figure stepped into her path and shoved her back into the mausoleum. It was a blonde girl, who was surprisingly strong.

"Is this the best you could do?" the blonde asked Thomas.

"She's fresh!" Thomas said to the blonde. Willow dimly recognised her as the girl that Jesse had been talking to. _Maybe he's close by. Maybe he can help._

"Hardly enough to share," said the blonde girl.

"Why didn't you bring your own?" Thomas asked.

"I did."

Jesse stumbled up from behind the blonde and passed her. He tripped down the mausoleum stairs, straight into Willow's arms. His neck was bleeding.

"Oh my god! Jesse!" Willow screamed.

"You know… she gave me a hickey," drawled Jesse, who was only dimly aware of what was happening around him.

Thomas glared at the blonde. She merely shrugged. "I got hungry along the way."

"Jesse, let's get out of here," Willow said, pleading her friend to wake up.

"Oh you're not going anywhere." The blonde said.

Willow stepped forward. "Leave us alone!"

"You're not going anywhere until we've fed." The blonde girl suddenly changed, her face becoming more feral, her eyes glowing a sickly yellow, and her mouth sprouting a set of fangs. Willow screamed and backed away.

"I don't think so Darla." Thomas said.

The blonde glared at him. "What?"

"Seriously. Think about how pissed the Master's gonna be if we give him our leftovers."

Darla just shrugged. "Mine tasted great."

"Yeah, that was really dumb." Thomas said. I'd recommend just killing him and finding someone new. Don't give the Master a sacrifice with a huge bite taken out. Think about how pissed that would make him.

"I was just sampling the goods," Darla said with a grin. I wouldn't want to give daddy someone who tastes like crap. This one is _pure_. If you catch my drift," she added with a snicker.

"Yeah well I'd put serious money one the girl being a virgin too," Thomas said regarding Willow, who was now humiliated as well as terrified. "I didn't need to rip a chunk out of her neck to tell."

Suddenly a large, burly man stepped into the mausoleum. He had a solid build, brown hair and his face was demonic like Darla's had become. "Why must you two always lag," he growled.

"Take it easy, Luke," Darla said.

"I was just telling Darla what a retard she was for molesting the sacrifice." Thomas addressed Luke.

Darla backhanded Thomas across the face which sent him reeling into a terrified Willow.

"How dare you speak about your elders like that!" Darla hissed.

"The boy has a point," Luke said. "It was most unwise for you to taste the sacrifice."

"Screw you both." Darla said. "You're just jealous that I'm the Master's favourite."

Luke let out a deep gutteral growl. He dispised Darla, and deeply resented that the Master showed her such affection and leaniancy although he would never openly doubt his leader's judgement. "Come," he said. "We have delayed for too long." He touched a panel in the wall and it swung open revealing a passageway. Luke stepped forward, violently grabbing Willow and Jesse, and led them down the passageway into what could only be described as a sewer. Thomas and Darla followed closely behind.

* * *

It felt like they had been walking for miles. Willow was now almost as exhausted as she was terrified. The tunnels were almost pitch black, only the occasional shaft of moonlight or streetlight from far overhead would penetrate the earth through a drainage grate or a pipe. Willow wondered if thier captors could see any better than she could. When they passed a shaft of light, she noticed that Thomas's face had deformed to become like Darla's and Luke's, three pairs of eyes glowing a sickly yellow. She shuddered, wondering how she had ever found him attractive. The cute, charming boy she danced with at the Bronze now seemed like a completely different person.

Willow wanted to run, but Jesse seemed to be having trouble moving on his own, he had to lean on her for support. She was terrified, but she couldn't abandon her friend. Besides, where could she go? There were three _creatures_ behind her, and they had forced her to take so many twists and turns throught the tunnels it would be impossible for her to find her way back to the crypt. She had no idea how deep underground they were, or even if they were still in Sunnydale. If she tried to run ahead of her captors, she would be equally as lost. Willow shuddered at the thought of finding a dead end, of being trapped underground forever. She let out a shreik as a rat scurried accross her shoe. Thomas snickered.

"Notice how few of those we've seen?" Darla said to Willow. "Means we're getting close." Willow had no idea what Darla meant, but it probably wasn't good.

"Rats are fucking gross." Thomas said. "I can't believe some vamps actually eat them."

"Down here, it can often be more convenient to survive on rats, than to endure the tedious venture to the surface to pray on humans." Luke said. "However you are quite right. Feeding off vermin is disgusting, and only the lowest minions are lazy enough to do so."

"Lazy?" Thomas replied, "It's revolting. I'd rather walk twice as far to get some human meat than live off rats."

Luke smiled a cruel grin. "As would I. Unfortunetly there are many vampires who are happy to defile themselves by eating vermin. I believe Darla knew one such vampire."

Darla longed to curse at Luke but dared not. She continued to walk in silence. The group approached a large tear in the wall that led into a deep cavern. They eneterd, and Willow saw dozens of figures, each of them with a deformed face. From the captors conversation, Willow was begining to accept that these people were vampires. The cavern seemed to be some kind of underground church. Standing at an alter was the ugliest man -or vampire, that Willow had ever seen. He was clad entirely in leather and his face was even more demonic than the others. He grinned at Willow, revealing his fangs. He was clearly older than the others, and was perhaps thier leader. Tears streamed from Willow's eyes as Luke violently shoved her to floor.

"Well, well." the Master said. "What do we have here?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Underground Church, Sunnydale**

**1997**

"Are these for me?" the Master beckoned toward Willow and Jesse with his claws.

"Offerings master." Luke answered with his head bowed in respect. By this stage Jesse had seemed to recover a little. His head had stopped spinning as badly, and he was now able to stand without Willow's support.

"Where the hell are we?" he demanded. "Who are you freaks?" Luke answered him with a hard slap across the face that sent him reeling. Willow's eyes began to tear up.

"You will not speak in the Master's presence."

"P-please, let us go." Willow sobbed.

Darla stepped forward and stood between Willow and Jesse, draping her arms seductively around their shoulders. "This one is good." She said gesturing towards Jesse. "His blood is pure."

"You've tasted it." The Master said plainly, his displeasure echoing throughout the cavern. "I'm your faithful dog. You bring me scraps."

Thomas and Luke exchanged glances, each struggling not to smirk.

"I –I didn't mean-" Darla began, but was silenced by five clawed digits snatching her throat.

"I am trapped here Darla, trapped in this house of… _worship_. You hunt the humans freely while I am stuck at Hellmouth. I gave you eternal life Darla, and the best you can repay me with is your own scraps?" He loosened his grip on Darla's neck and she took a step back. "The Harvest –and my ascension is almost at hand. Pray that when it comes, I'm in a better mood."

Darla glared at the ground, refusing to look at either Luke or Thomas. There would be no end to their snide comments, and _I told you so's_. Being reprimanded in front of them was bad enough, but being humiliated in front of the humans was disgraceful.

"Bring me the boy," the Master snapped. Darla grabbed Jesse and shoved him onto the alter. Jesse tried to avoid the Master's stare as he was shoved forward into the ancient vampire's arms. Jesse wanted to vomit as he felt the Master's foul hands touching his face. "This one is pure you say?"

"Yes." Darla replied eagerly. She hoped that the purity of Jesse's blood would appease the Master, and make up for her blunder in touching the sacrifice.

With one swift motion, the Master twisted Jesse's head and with a sickening snap, Jesse lay in a crumpled, dead heap on the alter. Willow screamed in horror and the tears continued to stream from her face more heavily than ever. _That monster just killed Jesse._

"Oh, God!" she cried.

"He cannot hear you down here." The Master said as he traced his talons over the remains of a large wooden cross. Smoke trailed from his fingers as he brought his arm forward and pointed straight at Darla who was staring at the ground, her shame evident even on her demonic face. "Dispose of the boy."

"Alright," was all she could reply. The Master had rejected her offering, snapping the boy's neck without even feeding. It was the ultimate humiliation.

"Luke, bring forward the girl."

Willow screamed as Luke's rough hands grabbed her and dragged her towards the alter. She didn't even notice Darla dragging away Jesse's corpse. All she could think about was the hideous vampire at the alter and the fate that awaited her.

The Master seized her shoulders and forced her to stare deep into his eyes. Willow longed to look away, but she couldn't. At first it was because she was too afraid, but in a matter of seconds, she was physically incapable of turning her head away. The mesmerizing orange orbs seemed to blur everything else in Willow's vision until there was nothing left. Just the pair of eyes and their hypnotic thrall. The Master released his grip on her but Willow just continued to stand and stare.

"Do you still wish to leave child?" The vampire asked her.

"Yes."

"Then go."

Willow struggled in vain to move her legs but they were somehow rooted to the ground. She heard Luke let out a deep, horrible laugh. These freaks were playing games with her. With nothing else to lose, Willow decided to fight back. She reached back into her mind and found a tiny, lingering hope, a piece of herself that refused to give in. She focused and glared at him, each waging a silent battle of will against the other. The Master probed her mind, seeking out every fear, every insecurity and attacking her with them. Willow's determination had begun to build momentum, and with every humiliation that was cast into her mind, she would fight back, she was strong, an Amazon. She imagined the earth spitting open at her feet and swallowing the vampire whole. She imagined blinding light leaping from her fingertips, searing and destroying every last one of these freaks.

Thomas shifted uncomfortably. The Master _never _took this long to toy with one of his victims.

After several minutes of unblinking resolve, stress and doubt once again crept into Willow's mind. She gasped as she fell, passing out at the Master's feet.

"Is everything alright, my lord?" Luke asked his leader with concern.

"Yes Luke." The Master replied. "The willpower of this one is exceptionally strong; she has vast untapped potential, which I would very much like to explore. You have done well in bringing her to me. I believe we can find good use for her."

* * *

**The Bronze, Sunnydale**

At the Bronze there was no sign of Willow or Jesse. Xander's head was throbbing from where he was punched. Oz had asked a few bouncers and bar staff if they had seen anyone matching the description Xander gave of Thomas but nobody had seen him.

"You sure you're okay man? You don't look so good." Oz asked Xander with concern.

"I'll be fine. I just need to find my friends."

"They'll probably be at school tomorrow. Look, there's Ben. Yo, Ben!"

A tall, dark haired guy, slightly older than Xander and Oz approached them.

"Oz, what's up?" he greeted as he exchanged high fives and fist taps with Oz.

"Not much man. Ben, this is Xander. Xander meet Ben."

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Xander, Ben is studying medicine at UC Sunnydale, maybe he could take a look at that bump on your head?"

Xander did not feel like playing the role of a guinea pig, but he obliged out of politeness.

"Ouch." Ben said, inspecting the swelling lump. "How did this happen?"

"Some jerk punched me out in the bathroom."

"My diagnosis is to go home and put some ice on it. It doesn't seem to be too bad, but the last thing you want to do is stress, or be in an environment where the bump will get aggravated."

"But I have to find my friends! The crazy guy who punched me was with Willow," Xander panicked, "Anything could have happened to her!"

"Listen Xander," Oz began. "If your friends aren't here, there's not any point in you sticking around looking for them. Ben is a med student, he knows what he's talking about. Go home and put some ice on that lump, for your own good. Try calling your friends when you get home. You'll probably see them at school tomorrow anyway. It's getting pretty late. Maybe they've just gone home."

"Yeah, maybe," Xander half-heartedly agreed. "Good to meet you guys, and thanks for your help."

"No problem Xander," said Ben.

"See you at school sometime," said Oz. With that, Xander left.

"Thanks for the help, dude," said Oz. "He seemed pretty panicked when I found him."

"Yeah, I hope he finds his friends," Ben said. "You go to school with him?"

"Yeah, I don't know him too well though. Gets picked on by Larry from time to time."

"That guy's a jerk." Ben agreed. "He picked on me when I was at Sunnydale too."

"Yeah well, at least you're going somewhere with your life," said Oz. "Few years from now and all Larry will be doing is flipping burgers at Doublemeat Palace."

"Yeah we can hope."

"So what are you doing out so late anyway? Shouldn't you be resting up for some big med-exam?"

Ben sighed. "Yeah I probably should. I've been having trouble sleeping these days. And when I do, I keep having these weird dreams."

"About what?" Oz inquired

Ben looked away. "Rather not talk about that. Let's just say that Freud would have a field day."

* * *

The bump on Xander's head had subsided by the following day, but Xander had still seen no sign of his friends. He sat in class completely exhausted, not comprehending a word his teacher was saying. _Where are they?_

The first thing he did when he got home last night was pick up the phone and dialed Willow's number. She wasn't home. Then he tried Jesse's place. Jesse hadn't been home either. Xander lay awake the worrying the entire night. It wasn't like his friends at all to abandon him like this, to take off without saying anything. He prayed that he'd see them at school tomorrow, that nothing had happened to them. His worst fears had come true when he arrived and there was no sign of any of them. As soon as his first spare came up, he scoured the entire school, searching for someone, _anyone_, who might have seen them.

As he passed a group of people in the hallway, he felt a hand reach out and shove him against a wall.

"Look guys, it's Xander and all his friends!" Xander looked up, straight into the face of Larry. Surrounding Larry were a group of equally dumb jocks and cheerleaders.

"Cordy!" Xander exclaimed spotting Cordelia. "You were at _the Bronze_ last night, have you seen Willow or Jesse?"

"Ugh," was Cordelia's only reply, shamed that Xander would single her out and speak to her in front of her friends.

"You want me to deck him, Cordy?" Larry offered.

"That would be awesome!" gushed Harmony before Cordy had a chance to open her mouth.

Cordelia's eyes narrowed and she stepped forward. "Larry was talking to _me_."

"Whatever." Harmony said as she rolled her eyes. "Larry just kick his ass."

"Fuck off, Harm." Xander addressed the blonde. "I don't have time for your bullshit. Cordy, have you, or have you not seen Willow or Jesse since last night?"

"No, she hasn't," Harmony said. "And don't you _ever_ speak to me like that again!"

"Excuse me!" Cordleia snapped. "Xander just asked _me_ a question, and last time I checked, I can speak for myself. I don't need _you_ to answer for me."

"Well gee." Harmony said. "Who pooped in your Cornflakes? I swear, you haven't been the same since that dead body fell on you." The rest of the girls fell deadly silent. They knew that Harmony had just crossed the line. Several of the jocks were smirking, they had now forgotten all about Xander and were hoping a catfight would break out between Cordelia and Harmony.

"Shut your face Harmony." Cordelia seethed.

"I swear," Harmony continued to babble, "it was totally freaky. The body fell _right_ on top of her! It was like it was still alive and trying to hug her or something. And Cordy was like 'oh my god, it's getting me!'" Harmony noticed the look of rage on Cordy's face and broke into a fit of nervous laughter. "For God's sake Cordy, grow a sense of humor or something."

"You were just as freaked as the rest of us Harmony," said Aura.

Harmony snorted. "As if."

With a loud clap, Cordelia's hand flew up and left a five-digit red mark on Harmony's cheek. Harmony gasped. "You fucking bitch."

Xander slipped away as everyone turned their attention to the two girls.

"Pull her hair!" some moron screamed out at Harmony, adding fuel to the fire.

A large jock nudged Larry and whispered. "This is totally hot man. You think they'll fight?"

Larry just shrugged. "Meh." For some reason, the thought of two hot girls clawing at each other just didn't seem to interest him.

"Maybe they'll kiss or something!" the jock continued as Cordy and Harmony stared each other down.

"Whatever." Larry replied, his attention seemed to have focused on the football tryouts happening nearby.

"Dude, it's a catfight! Between Cordy and Harm."

"Uh, yeah." Larry replied quickly. "Is this sexy or what? Go Cordy!"

* * *

Suddenly Xander remembered who else was at _the Bronze_ last night. Mr. Giles had been there. It was a last ditch effort, but it was worth a shot. He headed towards the library and pushed through the doors. It was empty as usual, with the exception of the middle aged librarian standing behind the desk flipping through old volumes.

"Giles!" he called out as he entered.

"Hello Xander."

"I need to know if you've seen Willow or Jesse," Xander said. "I haven't seen them since the Bronze last night. You were there, I figure you might have seen them."

A look of shock and horror moved across Giles face.

"Ah, no I haven't. I'm sorry. You don't, ah, plan on going there tonight do you?"

"I'm gonna have to," Xander said. "It's the last place I saw them and nobody else has seen them since then."

"I must advise against going there tonight." Giles pressed. "If something has happened to your friends, if _somebody_ is responsible for their disappearance, it may not be safe for you."

"I don't care." Xander said. "I have to find out what happened to them. Thanks for your time Mr. Giles." He turned to leave the library when Giles called out to him.

"Xander!"

"Yes?"

"Something is going to happen at the Bronze tonight." The British man began. "Something dangerous, people may get hurt. Please stay away from there, just for tonight."

Xander's eyes narrowed at Giles with suspicion. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"I know because I have to." Giles replied solemnly.

"And I'm going because I have to." Xander snapped angrily. Clearly Giles knew something that he wasn't sharing, and if it had anything to do with his friends' disappearance, Xander was determined to find out. He stormed out of the library without another word.

* * *

**The Bronze, Sunnydale**

Later that night…

Xander made his way to _the Bronze_ as soon as school finished. He waited quite a few hours before a line began to build up behind him. As soon as the doors were unlocked, Xander was the first inside. He scoured the place for any detail, any clue that might inform him of his friends whereabouts. The place filled up quickly, it was going to be a huge night tonight. Xander stepped into the men's room where he examined his reflection in the mirror. Why did Thomas have no reflection the other night? Was his mind just playing tricks on him? He stepped out and headed towards the table he usually sat at. _Something_ had to turn up. Then he saw it. Her back was turned to him and at first he didn't even recognize her. Her back was towards him, but there was no mistaking that flowing red hair. Willow.

* * *

**Underground Church, Sunnydale**

Luke knelt at the alter as the Master extended his hand for Luke to kiss. As much as the Master loved Darla, she could never have been his vessel. Only Luke had the sheer devotion, necessary to be entrusted with such an important role. Still, it was important to him that she was here to witness the event, as were several other high ranking vampires within the order.

After Luke kissed the Master's pale, bony hand, the older vampire turned his hand over facing Luke with his wrist. Luke sunk his teeth into the wrist, drawing the Master's blood into his mouth. After a few moments Luke released the Master's hand. The blood of another vampire offered no nourishment, but it could sometimes be used in rituals such as this one.

"My blood is your blood. My soul is your soul." The Master said to his childe.

"My body is your instrument." Luke responded.

Darla smiled as the Master's blood flowed from the open wound on his wrist. Soon the Master would be feed. The town could easily be taken from the humans, and she knew who would rule at the Master's right hand. Not her, and certainly not Luke. Angel would be the Master's second in command, if he could only be made to see what gift that position was. She couldn't wait to see him again.

"Every soul he takes will feed me," Continued the Master. "And their souls will grant me the strength to free myself. Tonight I shall walk the earth and the stars themselves will hide!"

The blood flowed down the Master palm and when it reached his fingertips, he painted a three-pointed star on Luke's forehead. Luke was now the Master's vessel. The ritual was complete.

* * *

**Angel's apartment**

After the sun went down, each minute seemed to stretch out into eternity. Angel paced his apartment impatiently. The Mayor said that he would send someone to help stop the Harvest. He jumped as he heard a knock at the door. He opened it cautiously.

At his doorway stood a blonde adolescent girl, in one hand clutching a crystal. He stared at the blonde for several moments before she spoke.

"Um, hi. I guess you're Angel?"

"Yeah." Angel had expected someone older and more sinister. Perhaps a sorcerer or a demon of some kind. In some ways, he was relieved that he would only be dealing with this girl, it seemed like less of a moral compromise. "Here on behalf of the Mayor?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I'm supposed he help you with the ritual to block the Hellmouth. Name's Amy."

"Great to meet you." Angel said with perhaps more un-enthusiasm than he intended. "So what are you, a witch?"

"Just learning the basics." Amy said. "The Mayor says that I have the potential to be a powerful witch someday. The ritual with this _phlabotnum_ crystal is a pretty basic one, we shouldn't have a problem."

"Right."

"Guess we should get started then," Amy grinned. "You ready to save the world?"

* * *

**The Bronze**

"Willow!" Xander shouted as he raced over to his friend.

"Xander." She greeted as she turned to him.

"My god Will, I was so worried. Where have you been?"

"Around." She smiled coyly.

"What's that supposed to mean? Have you seen Jesse?"

"One question at a time Xander… you don't wanna make my head spin do you?"

Xander was taken aback at the way his friend was acting. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Peachy."

"You sure? What's with the outfit?"

"Just thought I'd try something new." Said Willow. "Maybe you should as well. Don't know how long you can keep wearing plaid before you realize it's pretty much keeping you from ever getting laid."

"What?" Xander felt his face burn.

"Don't worry," Willow said with a wink. "It's no secret. In fact, I think it's kinda cute."

"What would you know?" Xander said angrily.

"Only what Thomas taught me last night." She caught the look of horror in his eye. "Oh come on Xand. You could have had me for years. Doesn't take a genius to know that I was interested. It's okay though, I can take a hint."

"Willow, I-" Xander began.

"You don't have to say anything." Willow said. "It's not your fault I felt that way. God knows you weren't exactly dressing to impress. And I gotta admit, I can be a royal bore sometimes." She let out a laugh. "And I used to wonder why I got picked on. What a dope!" She leaned towards him. "It took me years Xander, but I've finally realized why you weren't interested in me. What a prude I was."

Xander felt like crying or throwing up. He was speechless. Willow surveyed the crowd. "So. You don't want me. That's cool. Who _do_ you want then?"

"What?"

"Who do you want Xander? Cordelia? Harmony? I could help you out."

Xander let out a false laugh, desperate to find some common ground with his friend. "Those girls have never given me a second glance. Like you said, I'm the plaid king."

"We could work around that. I could talk to them. Have them screaming your name, begging for you by the end of it. What'll it be Xand? Take your pick."

"Look Willow, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I'm just out to enjoy the night, and the company of my friends."

Willow shrugged. "Suit yourself. Tonight's going to be awesome." She agreed.

"You know if the _Dingoes_ are playing?" Xander asked her? I was talking to their lead guitarist the other night.

"No, I don't think the _Dingoes_ are on tonight." Willow said as she plunked down into the chair. "In fact, I'm not sure if there even _is_ a band tonight. Sure is packed though."

"Yeah," Xander agreed.

"Speaking of the _Dingoes_," Willow said, as a smile etched it's way across their face, "Their lead sure is a cutie. So you were talking to him?"

"Yeah," Xander said. "His name's Oz. He helped me out after Thomas punched me and you left. That guy's bad news Will."

"Oz?"

"No, Thomas. The guy you left with."

Suddenly the lights dimmed as the main power was switched off. A large muscular man with brown hair climbed up on the stage and faced the crowd. "Luke." Willow said with a shudder.

"Who?" Xander wondered.

Willow shot a look at Cordelia who walked past. "I thought there wasn't any band tonight." Willow and Xander overheard her saying to Aura.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Luke addressed the crowd as several vampires secretly locked all the doors and stood guard from the inside, watching the spectacle about t to take place before them. "There is no cause for alarm. Actually, there is cause for alarm. It just won't do any good."


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

The next few minutes that unfolded were the most disturbing that Xander had ever witnessed. The big guy on stage, Luke as Willow had called him dragged the bouncer effortlessly by the neck. 

"What do you want?" the bouncer asked "cash?" The bouncer gasped in horror as he saw Luke's vampiric features. "What's wrong with your face, man?" Luke offered no answer as he sunk his fangs into the man's neck. After a few moments the man's corpse dropped to the floor, completely drained.

"Oh God." Xander gasped. "What the fuck is that?"

Willow offered no answer and just sat watching the spectacle on stage.

Another young man was dragged up on stage. He screamed as Luke sucked the life out of him within moments. The boy's corpse fell at Luke's feet next to the bouncers. Next a young girl was dragged forward.

"Willow, what's going on?" said Xander.

"Shh." Willow shushed Xander. "I wanna watch."

"Um… Will, I don't think this is an act. I don't think this is supposed to be happening."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Well duh."

"We should leave. Now."

"Gonna be kinda hard with all those vampires blocking the exits." Willow said gesturing the figures guarding the doors. Xander noticed that their faces were deformed like Luke's.

"Did you say _vampires_?"

Willow said something in response, but Xander couldn't hear. The entire club was freaking out, it was hard to hear anything over the screaming. More vampires started to move forward, dragging more and more screaming teens towards the stage for Luke. Xander leapt from his chair. "We have to _go_!" He snatched at Willow's arm. She refused to budge.

"I'm comfy here Xand. Oh look!" she said absently as she pointed toward the stage. "Looks like you won't get a shot with Cordy after all."

Xander watched as Cordelia was dragged to the stage by her hair, screaming. Xander leapt from his chair. He wanted to take action, to do _something_, but he hadn't the faintest idea what. The vampires –or whatever these freaks were seemed to be much stronger than regular people and they had the club completely sealed off.

Luke caressed Cordeleia's face. "My, you're a pretty one." He smirked.

"Oh God!" sobbed Cordy as tears ran freely down her face. "Please don't do this."

Instead of biting Cordy like he'd done the rest, Luke punched her hard in the mouth. "You humiliate us both when you beg," he growled. Cordy doubled over and spat out a tooth. Blood flowed down her chin and painted dark stains down her clothing that would never wash out. Luke caressed her chin again, coating his finger with her blood, then tasting it. "Well, well." He said softly. "Somebody's been round the block a few times." He yanked her neck towards his mouth and whispered, "I never could stomach whores myself. But the Master seems to have a taste for them." He lowered his fangs, but before they could touch Cordy's throat, Luke leapt back in agony. Something had struck him.

Pure adrenaline and instinct took possession of Cordy. She leapt of the stage and ran. There were guards at the exit, so she vanished into the flock of people.

With one swift motion, Luke yanked the shaft of wood from his shoulder. "You missed." He snarled at the crossbow-wielding figure at the balcony. "Zachary!" Luke barked. "kill the-" he turned to face a fellow vampire and found that Zachary had vanished. On the floor where Zachary had been standing was a pile of dust with an arrowr sitting in the centre. He snarled up at the balcony and leapt from the stage.

* * *

Giles reloaded his crossbow as he made his way down the stairs. He'd missed Luke's heart but would try again as soon as he had the chance. He made eye contact with the vampire as soon as he reached the club floor, but the space between them was blocked by dozens of screaming panicking students; preventing Giles from getting a clear shot at Luke. He noticed Willow sitting by herself, sipping a soda. She seemed to be the only one who wasn't freaking out. Xander was practically jumping up and down on the spot. He wanted to get the hell out of there but he refused to leave his friend. 

"There's something wrong with my soda," Willow pouted. "It's bland and gross. Like my taste buds have taken the day off." A wrinkle-faced man walked over to the two friends. He grabbed at Willow's shoulder hard and Xander leapt forward and punched him in the face.

"Kid's got game." He snickered as though Xander's punch hadn't affected him in the slightest. The wrinkle-faced man backhanded Xander and sent him to the floor. Willow leapt from her seat and smashed her glass over creep's head. He jumped back.

"What the fuck!" He snarled.

Suddenly Thomas walked up behind Willow and slipped his arm around her waist. "C'mon." he softly whispered into her ear. "Play nice now." She wrapped her arms around his neck, turning her back on the deformed man, who stepped forward.

"What the fuck." He repeated. "Thomas, your bitch just smashed a glass on me."

"Consider yourself lucky it wasn't me. Now piss off. Luke's the only one who feeds tonight."

Willow smiled at Xander over Thomas' shoulder. "See? Thomas can protect me. Better than you ever did."

Thomas looked down on Xander and smirked. "Hope I didn't cause any permanent damage the other night. Luke loves it when your blood has that spicy terror in it, and retarded people generally can't feel that kind of fear." Thomas chuckled, still holding Willow in his embrace. "Now there's an idea, sire a retard. How fucking funny would it be to have some dribbling idiot running around for eternity with mittens taped to his hands?" He suddenly noticed something past Xander and turned to give Willow kiss. "I gotta go help the guys out. Some ass decided to bring a crossbow. Have fun."

"Always do," Willow said with a wink.

Thomas stalked off but not before pausing and giving Xander a sharp kick in the face, knocking him out cold.

Willow grabbed Xander's unconscious body and made her way toward the empty bar. The bartender had stopped serving and was somewhere amongst the screaming mob, searching in vain for an exit. She slumped him on the ground out of sight, and softly kissed him on the forehead. "I shouldn't be doing this, but it's for best Xander." Satisfied that the unconscious Xander was concealed as best as it could be; she leapt over the bar and continued to watch the chaos unfolding.

* * *

To say that Larry was scared would be an understatement. He was terrified. And so he did what he always did when he was terrified. He welled up all the anger and fear inside him and swung his fist at the nearest vampire. Larry's fist knocked the vampire off balance. 

"Quite the punch you've got there," the vampire sneered. "Of course no high-school jock can match good old fashioned vampire strength." The vampire seized Larry by the scruff of his neck and tossed him violently against the wall. Once again, fear and doubt began the well up inside Larry. "Face it kiddo," the vampire continued. "you and everyone else in this building are nothing more than food for Luke; which is a shame really. I mean, with the punches you throw you'd have made one hell of a vampire."

Larry rose to his feet. "Plenty more where that came from," he said as he punched the vampire in the face again. The vampire swung back, Larry dodged out of the way, snatching a large bottle of alcohol from behind the bar and smashing it over the creature's head, knocking the vampire to the floor. "How'd you like that, faggot?" Larry taunted.

The vampire leapt to it's feet. "Wow, a sexuality slur. You know, that really does speak volumes." Enraged Larry tried to stab the vampire with the broken bottleneck he still clutched in his hand. With superior reflexes, the vampire jumped back, knocking over a table behind it. The vampire grinned. "Gotta move faster than that kiddo, if you want-" The vampire stopped as it noticed the flames creeping up it's arms. A candle on the table had ignited the alcohol Larry had drenched the vamp's clothes with. The vampire screamed but it was too late. Within moments the vampire had turned to ash, consumed completely by the flames. Filled with renewed vigor, Larry decided to find an escape.

* * *

Luke snatched a young girl from the crowd and drained her as quickly as he could. As unlikely as it was to get hit by a crossbow from across the crowd, Luke didn't want to take any chances. He'd decided to glut as much blood as he could, and complete the Harvest as soon as possible. None of the usual drawn out dramactic stuff. The longer the ceremony dragged out, the more chances the stranger would have to make a clean shot. He grabbed a man and tore out his throat with his powerful teeth. Within seconds the man was drained. "Alexander!" Luke called to the nearest vampire. "Guard my back. I'm going to finish the Harvest as quickly as I can."

* * *

Giles tried to aim his crossbow at Luke from across the crowd, but it was impossible. His arrow was bound to hit a student before it even reached Luke. He turned away and decided to clear the club instead. He gasped as he noticed Xander's form slumped behind the bar. "Oh god." Suddenly he was violently shoved, and narrowly avoided a punch to the head. Giles raised his crossbow, dug it into his assailant's chest, and very nearly pulled the trigger. "Oh my," he exclaimed in shock as he realized his attacker was human. 

"Whoa." His attacker froze, his fist still raised in the air. "You're not one of them, you work in the lie-bree."

If he weren't in the middle of a battle, Giles would have cringed at the boy's mispronunciation. "Yes. And I plan on returning to it," Giles said. "Xander over there is unconscious. I'm going to create an exit and evacuate this place, but I need you to carry him."

Larry nodded and with his powerful arms, hoisted Xander over his shoulder. He'd never liked Xander, and had beaten him up numerous times, but in this situation, petty high school rivalries seemed like a thing that would be forever left behind.

* * *

_Holy shit,_ Oz thought. _Are these really vampires?_ He felt his stomach turn as Luke lifted a girl to face level and sink his fangs into her. He raced about the club, desperate to find some sort of weapon. In the chaos, a chair had somehow gotten smashed apart. Oz picked up one of the shattered wooden legs and clutched it in his hand as a stake. A vampire stalked over to him and grinned sadistically. Oz grimaced. _It works in the movies,_ he thought as he stepped forward and tried to stab his stake at the vampire's chest. The vampire deflected the stake with ease and tossed Oz aside, the stake clattering across the floor. 

Suddenly, someone jumped at the vampire from behind, but the vampire shrugged him off. Oz gasped as he realized it was Ben. Oz charged at the vampire, but once again, the vamp tossed Oz aside, and snatched Ben from his shoulders. "Rules are, no feeding," the vampire hissed into Ben's face. "But I doubt anyone will notice." Oz watched in horror as the vampire bit into Ben's neck, and Ben turned visibly paler. Oz tried to stand, but a sharp pain cut shot through his leg. Probably a sprain rather than a break.

At first Ben squirmed in the vampire's grip, but as his life was literally drained out of him, his muscles lost all their strength. His heartbeat seemed to slow and then and his head spun. He knew that if he blacked out it would mean certain death. But as his consciousness faded, something else crept in and replaced it, something ancient and powerful. Moments later Ben snapped back to life, fully awake and the wound on his neck gone. He seemed to be standing in a slightly different position, and at his feet was a large pile of dust. He turned and helped Oz to his feet. "Oz… what just happened?"

Oz tried to recollect. "Dude… I don't know." It was inexplicable. One moment a vampire had Ben in his grip, and Ben was moments away from certain death the next moment the vampire was gone and Ben was fine. When Oz tried to remember what happened his mind slipped around. Almost as if whatever force had just saved Ben didn't need an explanation. "Whatever it was, someone up there must like you." Oz said to his friend.

* * *

Luke grinned as he allowed the next corpse to fall the ground. The ritual had been hurried, but it was comple! The earth trembled slightly, then stopped. Miles beneath him, Luke knew that the barrier containing the Master had been shattered. 

Giles fired a shot into a vampire guarding the front door. The vampire screamed as it keeled over and collapsed into dust. The other vampire snarled and charged forward, leaving the door unguarded. With no time to reload his crossbow, Giles tossed it aside and reached into his coat for a stake. Vampire grabbed Giles roughly by the throat, and then recoiled as Larry kicked the vampire in the shins. Knowing that Larry's mobility was seriously impaired with Xander slung over his shoulders, Giles had no desire to prolong the combat. He slammed the stake into the vampire's chest penetrating the heart. The vampire imploded into a dust cloud. The pair were soon joined by Ben and Oz, hobbling over away from the fray. "We've gotta clear everyone out of here." Oz thought out loud.

Giles, Ben and Oz worked together to unbolt the heavy doors and swing them open.

Larry felt Xander stir, and lowered Xander to the floor.

"Welcome to the land of the living." Larry said to Xander.

"Willow!" Xander panicked. "She –where's Willow."

Giles gritted his teeth. He had no idea where Willow was. "Willow is safe," Giles assured Xander. "Now we've got to get you to safety."

"We can take my van." Oz offered.

The floor of _the Bronze_ was littered with dozens of corpses, but there was still quite a crowd of survivors that were now racing towards the now open front entrance.

"Cordy! Harmony!" cried Larry as he recognized two familiar faces, dispite the tears and blood running freely across the girl's features. Harmony raced over to Larry, sobbing.

"Oh god, it was horrible. We've got to get out of here."

"We're taking Oz's van." Ben assured Harmony.

A mousy girl and a very short boy helped Cordelia hobble over to the others. Cordelia was hyperventilating, the blood still flowing from her mouth quite heavily. "Is –is Cordelia injured badly?" Giles asked the short boy.

"She lost a tooth when the big guy attacked her on stage, but apart from that she's mostly in shock," the small boy replied. "Nancy, are you alright?" he asked the mousy girl.

"I… I'll be fine. Let's just get out of here."

Satisfied that the rest of the students free to escape, the group made their way to Oz's van as quickly as possible.

* * *

**Angel's apartment, Sunnydale**

The light emanating from the crystal dulled as the energy from the Hellmouth dissipated. The ritual with the crystal was a success. The Hellmouth would now stay closed and the Old Ones would not be set free. The spell had required two people to cast, and although Amy had explained to Angel the side effect of the spell, neither of them were prepared for it. Angel was the first to speak.

"Is it done?"

"Yes" Amy said, avoiding his eyes.

"Amy…" Angel began. "When we did that ritual... when we were telepathically linked…"

"That poor girl…" Amy trembled backing away from Angel. "Her name was Drusilla, wasn't it? And that blonde one… it was Darla."

"That's not who I am anymore," Angel said. "I can never justify some of the things you saw, I can only strive to be a better man. We saved the world tonight Amy."

"We did a basic fucking spell!" Amy shouted. "You should have been in the Bronze tonight stopping that Darla!" Amy breathed deeply, calming herself.

"Amy… I was scared. You saw for yourself why. At least this way the Hellmouth is still closed."

"I… I guess," Amy said.

"Amy… your mother," Angel began "I'm sorry, I had no idea that she-"

"Don't." Amy cut him off. "Just don't. The spell worked, the world is saved now I'm out of here." Without another word Amy stood up and made her way quickly into the night. For a moment Angel considered following her at a distance, just to make sure she'd make it safely back to the Mayor's office, but he decided against it. The girl could certainly take care of herself.

* * *

**Underground Church, Sunnydale**

A smile crossed the Master's deformed features as the entire church shook. He could feel Luke, the vessel had glutted himself completely. The Master proudly stepped forward and pushed back at the invisible barrier that had held him for so many decades.

"Free!" he joyfully cried, "Free at last!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Angel's apartment, Sunnydale**

**Twenty minutes ago**

Amy sat across the circle from Angel, the crystal between them glowing. The Harvest was taking place at Bronze, but Amy and Angel were performing a spell that would dissipate the Hellmouth's energy. A side effect of the spell meant that both Amy and Angel would mentally view a few of the other's memories.

Amy was deep in a magical trance, her eyes closed as she convulsed in horror as she telepathically experienced Angel destroying the virtue and sanity of a devout young woman.

Amy saw Angel sitting in a confessional booth after feeding from the priest. "Forgive me father for I have sinned," said the timid voice of young woman. Amy instantly knew that her name was Drusilla and that Angel had been stalking her. "It's been two days since my last confession."

"That's not very long." Angel replied in a lilting Irish accent.

"Oh Father, I'm so afraid," Drusilla trembled

"The lord can be very forgiving," the Irish vampire mocked, "Tell me your sins."

Amy saw Drusilla explain to Angel a vision that she had, some workers were trapped in a mine, and that the next day, the mine had collapsed in on them. Drusilla had the amazing ability to see things before they happened. In her time, this was seen as witchcraft –one of the more disgusting sins. Considering her own abilities, Amy deeply resented this mindset.

"Oh hush child," Angelus said to Drusilla. "The lord has a plan for all creatures. Even a devil child like you."

Drusilla gasped "A devil!"

"Yes!" Angelus continued. You're a spawn of Satan. All the Hail Mary's in the world aren't going to help. The lord will use you and smite you down. He's like that."

Everything around Amy blurred. Suddenly she was re-living a different memory of Angel's. She recognized Drusilla's face again, this time whimpering on her knees in front of Angel and a blonde woman. Various family members of Drusilla were also on their knees, lined up next to her. They were in a house, and several corpses were littered on the ground.

"Who do ye think should be next, Darla?" Angel asked the blonde woman.

"How about this one?" Darla suggested with a cold smile, stroking the cheek of a crying little girl.

"Please no!" screamed a woman, presumably the girl's mother.

"Well," Angelus smiled. "I think we know who's next on the menu." He grabbed the woman roughly by the throat and bit deeply into her neck as the child sobbed.

Amy watched Darla and Angel destroy every last member of the family until only Drusilla remained. Angelus knelt and kissed Drusilla on the cheek, then whispered into her ear. "If I still had me human soul, I'd no doubt be feelin' pretty guilty about this whole afair."

"Guilty?" Darla asked.

"Aye, surely I would," Angelus replied with mock remorse. "Killin' your own family is one of the finest joys a vampire can know. And now I've gone an' deprived this fine lady of the opportunity to do it herself. Curse me black, evil heart." Angelus grinned as a look of horror and comprehension passed over Drusilla's face. "That's right, lass," he whispered. "You're comin' with us. I'm going to put a demon -and a few other things, inside that fine body of yours."

* * *

Amy gasped in horror as her eyes opened, she was once again sitting across from Angel, the crystal between them glowing as it dissipated mystical energies. She started hyperventilating.

* * *

Meanwhile, Angel was also in a trance, experiencing memories of Amy's. The memory of Amy was standing barefoot, staring sadly into a bathroom mirror. From the mirror, a middle aged woman stared sadly back at Amy. Angel knew that the body Amy was trapped in was not her own. Amy traced a razor blade over her wrist, blood seeping into the bathroom sink. "Wh-witch…" Amy said with lips that were not her own. 

The memory shifted and Amy was sitting in a living room doing homework. A girl walked into the room and spoke. The girl appeared to be Amy, but Angel knew that it wasn't.

"That essay is due tomorrow Amy" the young girl said. "I hope you did a better job on this one than the last B-minus piece of shit."

"It was a B-plus mom," the older Amy said.

Angel was struck with a horrific realization. Amy's mother had switched bodies with her, and was using Amy's body to re-live youth, while forcing Amy into her own middle aged body.

"Don't talk back to me you skank!" Amy's teenage mother screamed at the middle-aged Amy. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Amy's mother walked over to the door and opened it. Behind the door was a surly man with pale skin and dark long hair. "Hello Rack." Amy's mother greeted the man.

"Hello Catherine," Rack greeted Amy's mother. "I'm here on behalf of the mayor. May I come in?"

"Of course," Catherine said to the man. She turned and glared at Amy. "Amy, make us some snacks."

"No," said Rack as he stepped into the lounge room. "I won't be staying long."

"Okay," Catherine replied. "What does the Mayor want."

"In a week's time, the vampire known as the Master is going rise from the Hellmouth," Rack explained. "The slayer was due in town to stop him… but things don't always work out as planned." Rack smirked.

"And the mayor wants _me_ to stop the Master?" scoffed Catherine. "What's the reward?"

"There is none," hissed Rack. "If the Mayor intended for the Master to be destroyed by magick, he would have gone directly to me rather send me here. He know's I'm the real power of this town."

Catherine sneered. "Well then, Rack. Don't keep me in suspense. What does bring you here? And since when do you do work for the mayor?"

"The mayor has offered to... turn a blind eye to my dealings, in exchange for a few small favours. You see, the Mayor doesn't want the Hellmouth to open. Mr. Wilkins plans on Ascending, and an early apocolypse would intefere with that."

"Well all that would require," said Catherine "is a _phlabotnum_ crystal and a simple ritual. Why come here for that? The ritual is simple."

"Yes." Rack grinned sadistically. "So simple that a child could perform it." Rack leered at Amy.

Realization dawned on Catherine's face and she raised her hand to attack Rack. However, Rack was much faster; a dark bolt of energy was released from his hand, slamming Catherine across the room. Catherine rose to her feet and cast a large fireball from her hands at Rack.

The warlock screamed as the fireball grazed the side of his face, scorching skin and hair. He clenched his hand into a tightening fist and gestured towards Catherine who began to choke. "It's nothing personal Catherine," Rack said to the choking teenager. "I've been paid handsomely for this." He walked over to the choking girl and punched her hard in the face. He relaxed his fist and Catherine dropped to the floor gasping for air. "Besides, the mayor thinks that you're too much of a loose canon. He's afraid you might, 'rock the boat' so to speak." He turned to the middle-aged woman. "Come here Amy."

Terrified, Amy obeyed. Rack reached into his pocket and produced a small green gemstone. He forced the stone into Catherine's hand. "Touch the stone Amy. It's time for you to be restored to your real body."

"Thank you!" Amy cried as she clutched the stone. "Don't thank me," said Rack sleazily. "Thank the mayor. You'd be surprised at how paternal he is."

In an instant Amy was once again a teenager, and Catherine was back in her middle-aged body. "You bastard," Catherine seethed at Rack. She fired a dark energy bolt at Rack, but the warlock easily deflected it with his own.

Behind Catherine, a red hot poker began to float away from the fireplace. Catherine began muttering an incantation, and within moments, a dark, rapidly widening vortex appeared in the center of the room. "Enjoy hell Rack," hissed Catherine.

"I suppose I'll see you there," smirked Rack as the fire-poker flew forward impaling Catherine from behind, its red hot tip searing out from her chest. The portal closed as Catherine's corpse dropped to the floor.

* * *

Angel's eyes shot open as the vision ended. "Is it done?"

* * *

**Now.**

**Outside the Bronze, Sunnydale**

The Master made his way through the streets, a huge grin plastered across his ancient, demonic face. It had been far too long since he'd enjoyed the simple pleasure of the kill. As he made his way towards _the Bronze_ he noticed that the doors were open and that a few people were fleeing. A scowl crossed his face as he saw a van full of teenagers rumble past. He approached the door to the club where a few vampires were chasing down several escaping humans.

Darla approached him. "Welcome to the above world my Master," she beamed. "It's ours for the taking!"

"Indeed." Agreed the Master. "And yet I cannot help but wonder why the world is still here. Why did the Old Ones not rise when I was freed?"

Luke made his way over to the Master. He dropped to his knees in respect and admiration. "It is possible that somebody has interfered, my lord."

The Master frowned at Luke. "I notice that several people have escaped the Harvest. I am most disappointed Luke, such a thing has never happened before."

"There were several armed humans," said Luke looking downward in shame. "They were able to secure an exit. At least three of our numbers were slain."

"I see the human race has evolved since I last walked the earth," the Master observed. "Perhaps it time we did the same."

A redhead in a dark corset approached the trio of vampires, holding a struggling teenager. The Master smiled at the girl. "Willow! Did you enjoy the Harvest?"

"It was nifty!" Willow said. "Can't wait for the next one. I brought you a gift." She said shoving the teenager at the Master's feet. The Master clutched the boy's throat and gazed into his eyes.

"You are learning quickly child," the Master observed, ignoring Darla's look of jealousy.

"His name's Devon!" Willow gushed. "All the girl's at school think he's really cute and he's the lead singer of _Dingoes_, so I thought you should have him personally."

The Master continued to gaze into Devon's eyes and within moments Devon was completely mesmerized, he stood there of his own accord, completely dumbstruck.

"Dingoes?" the Master asked, not understanding.

"I believe it's a human pop culture reference," Luke said.

"They're a pathetic high school band." Darla said. "In our new order, crappy bands like theirs will _not_ be allowed to exist. In fact, I suggest we take the Bronze as our new base of operations. It would be very symbolic." Willow shot Darla a dark look.

"This _Bronze_ place… it means a lot to the humans?"

"Yes." Willow said.

"Then it shall be ours." The Master said. He leaned forward and sunk his fangs into Devon's neck, taking a deep mouthful of blood. Devon faltered slightly, but continued to stand there. "Your gift is greatly appreciated Willow. His flavor is exquisite."

"He's got a great voice too!" said Willow. She turned to Darla. "Lead singer… duh! Their guitarist is even hotter. Can I sire him?"

"You wanna sire the whole freaking band?" Darla sneered.

Willow opened her mouth to point out that Oz the guitarist was the only one she was interested in, but then realized that maybe a vampire band would be kinda cool.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

**Sunnydale High library, Sunnydale, California**

The ride back to the school had been uncomfortable in every sense of the word. Oz's van was packed with at least a dozen teens, most of them cramped together, forced to stand while Oz tore through the streets of Sunnydale. Conversation had been kept to a minimum, and despite the speed Oz was driving, the ride felt like it lasted forever.

Oz knew he'd done everything he could have; he'd helped Giles and Larry open up the main entrance to _the Bronze, _and then he'd crammed his van with as many people as it could carry. Yet he still couldn't fight off the pangs of guilt for those they'd been forced to leave behind.

The students were gathered around the library table and Giles took off his glasses to polish them. When he returned them to his head, he was faced with a dozen pairs of eyes all looking at him for answers he couldn't give. For a few minutes, nobody made a sound, save for those who were still sobbing over what had happened at _the Bronze_.

Xander was the first to speak. "Care to explain what the hell happened back there?" he glared at Giles.

"It must have been that gang again," said Larry, scratching the back of his thick neck with his hand. "You know, the one they keep talking about in the news."

"That was no gang," the short boy said. "Their faces were all messed up and stuff." The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a clean handkerchief. He handed it to Harmony to wipe her tears with.

"Thank you Jonathon," Harmony said, stung with guilt for all the time's she'd made snide remarks about Jonathon's habit of always carrying a handkerchief.

"Their faces were _way _messed up," agreed Cordelia, who held a damp towel to her bleeding mouth. "They must have had rabies or something."

"Maybe they were like, the next stage in human evolution," said a skinny blonde boy that nobody but Jonathon seemed to know. "The big one on stage looked just like Sabretooth from the Magneto's evil Brotherhood of Mutants, and that blonde girl kinda looked like Emma Frost-" he stopped when he noticed the stares he was getting from everyone. "I'm just saying is all," he added quietly.

"Vampires." Ben said quietly. "They were vampires."

"Well gee guys," Xander said sarcastically. "Maybe they were a gang of mutant vampires with rabies? Anyone else got anything moronic that needs to be added?"

"You're out of line Harris," Larry said.

Xander turned to address the jock. "I guess it's easy to stay calm when you're friends are all safe, and not you know, missing or killed." He shot a dark look at Cordelia, Harmony and Aura.

"Get over yourself Harris." Cordelia snapped. "We have no idea where Aphrodesia is. And… and…" tears filled her brown eyes.

"Devon." Oz said, his voice filled with sadness as he mentioned his friend and former band member.

"I'm so sorry Oz," Cordelia said to the short redhead.

Giles cleared his throat. "Many of us here have suffered losses. No doubt there will be many more to come. The last thing we need is fighting amongst ourselves. Xander please sit down."

Xander glared at Giles again, refusing to sit. "You knew, you bastard." He said, his voice filled with accusation. "You knew something was going down at _the Bronze_ tonight, and you didn't warn anyone."

"SIT DOWN!" Giles screamed at Xander. The two stared each other down for a moment before Xander finally obliged. Giles took a deep breath. "Tell me Xander. What _would_ you have done if I warned you about the vampires that attacked tonight? Would you have taken me seriously? Everyone saw the vampires firsthand tonight, and you're still all debating whether they were a gang infected by rabies or a Brotherhood of Evil Monsters!"

"Mutants." Corrected the blonde boy who again, received dark looks from everyone else.

"The fact is," Giles said, "the creatures we saw tonight were indeed vampires. And now that you know, you'll find your lives may not be the same again. Xander –and everyone else, I am deeply sorry for those you've lost tonight." Giles turned to Ben, who looked to be a few years older than everyone else present. "How did you know?"

"Well, the fangs and blood sucking were kinda a giveaway," Ben said, touching the strangely unharmed spot on his neck where he remembered being bitten. "Plus… I've dreamt about them before."

Giles nodded intrigued. "Tell me, what kind of dreams?" Ben didn't answer.

"What does it matter what kind of dreams he's had?" Larry interrupted. "How do we kill them?"

"You don't." Giles responded. "Only one girl in all the world is supposed to kill them."

"A girl?" Larry scoffed.

"Yes." Giles responded. "Into each generation a girl is born with the strength and power to stop the vampires. She alone will stand against them until she is killed in battle and the next girl is called. She's called the Vampire Slayer." He paused sadly before adding, "her name is Buffy."

"What kind of a name is _Buffy_?" Harmony scoffed.

"Where is she?" Xander asked. "Why isn't she here stopping them?"

Giles lowered his gaze. "Unfortunately, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in Cleveland. Apparently there is vampire and demon activity over there too."

"Demons?" Jonathon asked horrified. "Demon's are real too?"

Oz finally broke the deep silence he'd been holding. "It actually kinda makes sense when you stop to think about it. All the weird unexplainable things that have happened here. Vampires… demons… it explains a lot."

"Demons..." the irritating blonde boy repeated. "That's kinda cool. Surely there's gotta be some way we could like, summon them and use them to keep us safe from the vampires. My brother Tucker has been reading up on demonology, I think he believes in them too."

Larry slammed his fist into the table. "You're Tucker's brother? Boy, that explains the nonstop stupid comments."

"You'll do no such thing." Giles said sternly to the boy. "Summoning a demon to protect you from a vampire would be the equivalent of leaping out of a frying pan into the flames. After what has happened tonight, I imagine the vampire population of this town will skyrocket. I strongly advise you all to stay indoors at night from now on."

"What exactly did happen tonight?" Xander demanded. "Where is Willow?"

Giles sadly let out a sigh and once again removed his glasses to polish them. "I don't know of Willow's current whereabouts, I only pray that she's safe." Giles didn't add how much he doubted that possibility. "As for what happened tonight… the vampires call it _the Harvest_. Once every century the vampire named Luke –the big one who stood up on stage tonight, will glut himself on a group of humans in order to nourish the spirit of his Master."

"His Master?" Xander felt sick at the thought. "There's a vampire even badder than that Luke guy?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Up until tonight however, he was trapped underground. Tonight's Harvest was supposed to serve the dual purpose of releasing him, and ending the world."

"So what happened?" one of the students asked.

"To be honest, I don't know. Clearly, the apocalypse hasn't been ushered in –at least not yet, but I suspect the Master is now free. I believe we drove past him on the way here. He was the bald vampire entirely clad in leather."

"I'd have run him down if I knew." Said Oz.

Giles shook his head. "That would have done nothing more than angered and perhaps temporarily injured him. It certainly wouldn't have killed him."

"So this the part where you tell us what _will_ kill them?" Larry pressed.

Giles sighed. "A wooden stake through the heart, decapitation, fire, sunlight and holy water are all deadly for a vampire. Please do not try to engage a vampire in combat. Regular humans are simply not powerful enough."

"I did alright for myself back there," Larry bragged. "I set one of them on fire and he turned to dust."

"Yeah right," Cordelia murmured under her breath.

"I strongly advise that _none_ of you engage a vampire in combat," Giles repeated. "For self defense I suggest wearing a crucifix and perhaps putting garlic around your homes. Vampires cannot stand garlic because it negates their otherwise powerful sense of smell. Do not invite a stranger into your home either," Giles continued. "A vampire cannot enter a private residence unless it is explicitly invited. You will always be safe during the daylight hours, but at night, your own home is your only refuge."

One of the other students looked out the window fearfully. "So what do we do for tonight?"

"Tonight," Giles answered, "You will all call your parents and explain that… due to an unscheduled field trip you will all be staying the night in the school library. It's far too dangerous for any of you to walk home now. I'll stay awake to keep watch, but I believe we will all be safe here tonight. Vampires have no reason to break into a school library. I bid you all as good a night's sleep as is possible under the current circumstances." With that Giles turned and walked into the steel cage at the back of the library that served as Giles' personal storage area and poured himself a cup of very strong coffee. The students each took turns in calling their parents with the phone on the library desk.

* * *

Giles spent the rest of the night rifling through old volumes, doing even more research on the Master. If the Master was free, Giles was determined to do everything in his power to prevent him from taking over the town. _Why, oh, why can't Buffy be here,_ he thought to himself miserably. Overall, Giles felt that the teens had accepted the reality of vampires rather well. It was understandable that Xander would have reacted to the news with such anger and sarcasm as he did, after all, he had potentially just lost his two closest friends. 

Giles was, however concerned about the blonde boy. He seemed to have a warped sense of reality, and the fact that he thought of demons as '_cool' _was downright disturbing. Giles knew firsthand from his own violent past that demon worship and summoning was dangerous, and what might start out as harmless magickal fun could soon start a slippery slope that could lead to far more dangerous things. Giles searched amongst a box of old volumes until he found the book he was looking for. "Moloch, the Corrupter," Giles whispered to himself. This book contained the sprit of a manipulative demon known as Moloch. A group of priests had managed to dispel Moloch and trap his essence in this book. Giles tossed the book into a steel trash can and searched around his drawers for a cigarette lighter. It would be a shame to destroy such a historic and powerful volume, but Giles decided that if some students had an interest in demons, keeping the valuable book simply wasn't worth the risk. After recovering the lighter from the drawer he set the book alight and tossed it into the trash can. A foul, green smoke rose out, and Giles for a moment, Giles thought he could hear they tiniest echo of a scream as the pages burnt. Giles opened the window to let the smoke out, and as the last few pages burnt to cinders; the demon Moloch was destroyed forever.

Giles also made a mental note to speak with Ben later in private. He said that vampires had appeared in his dreams, which was most interesting. Normally this kind of this would only happen to a Slayer or a Potential Slayer, and it was impossible fore Ben, being male; to be either.

* * *

Long after the other students had fallen asleep on the floor Xander stood by himself between the stacks of books. A sick feeling in his gut had prevented him from sleeping, and he wondered if he would ever be able to sleep again. Tears started to form in his eyes as he thought of Jesse and Willow. Where were they? Why was Willow acting so strange tonight? He clenched his fist in anger as he thought of the vampire Thomas. He let out an angry ragged breath as he remembered the way that jerk had touched Willow, wrapped his arms around her and then kicked Xander in the face. And she _let_ him. A small part of Xander had always known how deeply Willow had loved him. As much as the thought shamed him now, Willow's not-so-secret crush had always made him feel nice, needed. Now it was like that part of her was dead. The cruel way she'd spoken to him tonight didn't seem like her at all. He wiped the tears from his face and silently vowed to find Willow, talk some sense into her and if need be, drive a stake through Thomas's heart himself. "I love you Willow," he whispered into the night. 

Xander jumped as he heard a footstep in the next isle of books. He took a deep breath and turned the corner of the stacks as silently as he could. He peered into the darkness ready for anything. Standing there were Larry and Oz.

"I'm sorry about Devon, man." Xander heard Larry say.

"Hey, he might have gotten away," Oz said. "You never know. With all the weird crap we'll be facing from now on, I think it will help to stay positive."

"Yeah, maybe Larry," whispered back. "So how do you think Mr. Giles knows all this shit about vampires and stuff?"

Oz simply shrugged. "I'd say there's more to him than meets the eye."

"Some might say the same about you Oz," Xander spoke, causing both Larry and Oz to jump. "You always have that total calm about you. No matter how bad things get. Sorry for being an ass earlier tonight guys. How does the saying go? 'Better to have people think you're a fool than open your mouth and confirm it'." Xander turned to Larry. "Don't think I got the chance to thank you for saving my life."

Larry grinned. "Don't mention it. Seriously. Do you know what that would do to my reputation?"

"Vampires." Xander mused out loud. "Who'da thunk it?"

"Xander," said Oz. "I never met your friends Willow or Jesse. But I'm sorry about your loss as well. I can tell they meant a lot to you."

"The world." Xander said. "I'm not giving up hope. Not yet anyway. I'm going to find Willow and Jesse, I swear to god."

"You're gonna kick a few vampire asses?" Larry said. "Count me in."

"I know from experience you can throw a mean punch," Xander said, with only a trace of bitterness.

"Whadaya say Oz?" Larry said. "Sick of vamps invading in your town, eating your friends?"

Oz simply nodded.

"Guess it's decided then," said Larry. "We're gonna save our friends and stake as many of these leeches as we can." They all grinned and Larry put his hand forward. Oz placed his hand on Larry's and Xander put his on top. For all their differences, in social cliques –Xander the comedic geek, Larry the athletic bully and Oz the philosophical guitarist, in that moment they all felt united. United in their love for their friends, and united in their hatred of vampires.

"We should come up with a name," Oz said.

There was a few moments silence while they all thought.

"How about _the Whitehats_?" suggested Xander.

"I like it," said Oz. "Like those old cowboy movies."

Larry nodded. "The Whitehats it is then."


	13. Chapter 13

**Angel's apartment, Sunnydale, California**

Angel shook the dusted remains of five different vampires from his coat before he unlocked his apartment door and stepped inside. After performing the binding ritual with Amy Madison to keep the Hellmouth closed, Angel had made his way to the Bronze, to clean up any of the vampires that might be still hanging around. Most of them –including Luke, Darla and the Master had already left, but a few of the younger vampires were still loitering around the nightclub when Angel arrived. He'd made short work of them and then headed back to his apartment.

A feeling of unease struck Angel the moment he stepped into the room. A familiar presence was in his apartment. Without even switching on the lights he silently removed his coat and hung it on the wooden coat rack he kept near the door. With one hand he effortlessly snapped off one of the coat rack handles and clenched it in his fist. "Darla." He said, feeling her presence before he even saw her. "What would bring _you _here? Shouldn't you be off somewhere celebrating the release of your precious Master?"

Across the room a lamp flicked on revealing Darla's slender from sitting in a chair. "All in good time Angelus," she smiled, raising a hand to brush her blonde hair behind her ear.

"It's Angel, nowadays," Angel said as he stepped towards her.

Darla stood and frowned. "Your soul. As if I could forget."

Angel nodded. "My humanity. What you took from me."

"I tried to get the curse lifted, Angel," Darla said, as though issuing an apology. "I tried. I'm sorry."

Angel again stepped forward, this time seizing Darla by the throat and slamming her into the wall. "Not as sorry as you will be for feeding on all those people tonight," he hissed. He held the broken shaft of wood against her chest.

"I haven't fed tonight." Darla said.

"Liar," Angel seethed, pressing the jagged edge between her breasts. "I was at _the Bronze_, I saw the corpses."

"I didn't kill them," Darla said. She craned her head forward and morphed her face into it's vampiric form. She leaned in so that she was inches from Angel. "I swear on my unlife, I didn't kill those people. I haven't fed in days."

Angel stood his ground. He still gripped the stake, but perspiration started to build up on his forehead. He knew that Darla was a master of deceit; that behind her sweet face was a lying demon. Yet here she was, wearing her demonic face like she had nothing to hide. She pressed her hands flat against the wall behind her, not resisting. Angel knew that a single thrust would end her existence forever. He's staked five other vampires tonight, why should Darla be any different? Somehow, it was. "You're nothing more than dirt on my floor," Angel snarled, trying to ignore his own shaking.

"One last kiss then?" Darla pleaded, her yellow eyes filled with longing.

Angel nodded. He morphed his face into its vampire form and leaned forward. For several moments they kissed, the stake still pressed against Darla's chest, almost tearing through her blouse. Angel felt her fangs rake his tongue and he responded in kind. The kiss was raw and primal, two lovers who were briefly reunited after a hundred long years. As he kissed her, tasted her, his vampire senses told him that Darla had told the truth. Her mouth, inviting as it was; lacked the taste of fresh blood. Angel pulled his face back and morphed back to his human visage. Darla did the same.

"Soul or no soul," Darla grinned her eyes lit up in ecstasy, "You know how to please a girl, I'll give you that."

Angel lowered his stake and took a step back. "You weren't the vessel. You didn't kill those people at _the Bronze_."

"No," said Darla. "Luke was. Like I told you, I haven't fed in days."

Angel dropped the makeshift stake onto the coffee table and sank into a chair. "I thought you might have been the Master's vessel," he said, his gaze at the ground. He almost felt like apologizing for his false accusations, then he nearly laughed at how stupid the idea was. "What's with the Catholic schoolgirl look?" he asked her, a tiny smile forming on his lips.

"You like?" Darla grinned doing a small curtsy.

Angel would by lying if he said no. "I'm sure you didn't come all the way here to play spin the bottle." Angel said.

"Business before pleasure," Darla said rolling her eyes. "Some things with you will never change. I'm here on behalf of the Master. You know, my _sire_." Darla reveled in the look that passed over Angel's face. Anger with the slightest trace of jealousy. "As you may well know, the Harvest was a success."

"The astounding lack of Old Ones says differently," Angel said

"Well, that's true." Darla admitted. "The Harvest was a success in the sense that the Master has now risen. Unfortunately, some spoil-sport has ruined our plans for the apocalypse, made obvious by the fact that the world is still here."

"That spoil-sport would be me." Angel said.

"_You_ stopped the Master's apocalypse?" She winked at Angel. "I won't tell if you don't."

"Gee, thanks." Angel said glumly.

"Anyway," Darla continued, "now that the Master is free, things around here are going to be very different. We're taking over. Hellmouth under new management, so to speak. I'm offering you a chance to be a part of that."

Angel shook his head in disgust. "I'm not like you or your kind."

Darla stood up and walked over to Angel's refrigerator. "Is that so?" she said with a smirk. She opened the fridge door and to her complete lack of surprise, Angel's fridge was stocked up with blood. Packets upon packets of the red substance, all sealed up in plastic. "I didn't know Kool-aid comes in those medical bags." she said turning towards him. "Does your soul help you get a tan?" she asked. "Don't answer, that one's rhetorical. Long story short, the Master wants you as his right-hand man, Angel."

Angel shook his head. "And why would the Master want to accept a guy he hates into his undead kingdom?"

"Despite your amazing lack of respect, he doesn't hate you, Angel. He says you're the most viscous creature he's ever met. Coming from someone as old as the Master, that's quite an achievement."

Angel clenched his fist in anger. "Well, if you don't leave my home right this instant, you'll find out just how viscous I can be."

Darla stepped forward and stroked his face. "I already know how viscous you are," her voice filled with lust. "That's why I loved you."

"You never loved me," Angel said, his teeth clenched. "Without a soul, you can't _love_ anything."

"Figure of speech my dear." Darla dismissed. "Even in my human years I never knew love, and as far as I'm concerned, I'm better off for it."

"Perhaps," said Angel.

"_You_ on the other hand…" Darla began. "When we kissed I could feel something different… are you in love Angel?"

"Certainly not with you." Angel said curtly, refusing to speak about Buffy with Darla.

Darla couldn't help but feel a little hurt. "No. Not with me. But you are in love with someone. I can taste it, and it's disgusting."

"Get out Darla." Angel snapped.

Darla shrugged. "Whatever you say. Just so you know, in a few days time, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole town gets an overhaul. Sometime real soon the Master is going to have a few words with the Mayor of this town. You know what they say: out with the old, in with the new. Humans and vampires. Time for you to stop straddling the fence and pick a side." With that, Darla turned and left, leaving Angel's door wide open.

* * *

**Downtown area, Cleveland, Ohio**

The street was completely deserted save for the four figures who were fighting it out. Three against one were not favorable odds for the Slayer, but Buffy was determined that tonight would not be the night she died.

"We're gonna chow down on some Slayer tonight!" screamed the vampire in the cowboy hat. Buffy sidestepped him as he lunged for her and tripping him with her leg, sending him tumbling. She stepped forward and kicked another vampire –this one a female, square in the chest. This sent her flying backward.

"Candy!" cried out the third Texan vampire, concerned for the undead lady that, according to Buffy's briefing was the Texan vampire's fiancé. Despite the vampire's facial hair, Buffy could see the scowl of hate forming across the vampire's mouth. "Giddy-yap, slayer!" he snarled as he stepped forward and punched Buffy square in the face.

The punch would have knocked anybody else out cold. But Buffy was the slayer. She was faster, stronger and more durable than almost any other person. The vampire's superhuman punch only dazed her for a few seconds. Unfortunately those few seconds were all Candy needed to leap at Buffy from behind and sink her fangs into the slayer's neck.

"Way to go Candy! Yee-haw!" screamed the vampire in the hat. Buffy knew that she would die. She knew that she would suffer a violent death at the hands of a vampire or demon. But not today. Ignoring the dizziness that was building up in her head, she reached behind her and grabbed the woman by the shoulders. With strength that only the slayer could muster, she flipped the woman over her head and slammed her down onto the pavement.

"You yeller' bellied whore!" screamed the Texan vampire with the facial hair. "That's my fiancé yer bloodying up!"

Buffy wiped at the blood that was flowing from her neck wound. "Honey," Buffy said in a mock Texan accent, "I don't think any amount of pummeling will make that girl look any worse."

He charged at her, and she took advantage of his rage to dodge his attack and send him flying into the other male vampire. As they both tumbled to the ground, she walked over to Candy who was struggling to get back onto her feet. Buffy reached into her coat and pulled out a stake. "The cowboy fad died out a few centuries back," Buffy told the woman. "But since you like it so much, I'll send you there too." She slammed the stake through Candy's back, and pressed her weight into it until the tip of the stake emerged from the vampire's bloody chest. Within seconds she collapsed into a cloud of dust, and the blood she'd spilled on the pavement instantly evaporated.

"Candy!" screamed the vampire with facial hair. "My little sugarplum!"

"She's gone to a better place now," offered the vampire with the cowboy hat, giving his brother a pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Being scattered across the pavement in a million pieces is a great place. Come over and I'll show you."

At once both vampires raced towards Buffy and each of them grabbed an arm. With all of her strength she brought her arms together crashing the vampire's skulls against each other. Big mistake. The vamp with the facial hair wrenched the stake from her hand and tossed it aside.

"Make a wish, Lyle!" the vampire in the hat chucked as each vampire pulled her arms in separate directions. Buffy groaned as the pain shot through her arms. It felt as though the vampires would tear her in two.

The silence of the street was suddenly interrupted by the deafening roar of a motorcycle. Buffy glanced over her shoulder as saw salvation. A figure on a motorbike raced past Buffy. Both vampires looked up in shock. The motorbike twisted around to make another pass, but this time the rider leaned over and slammed a stake into a vampire's chest. "Tector!" the final vampire screamed for his fallen brother, now a cloud of ash.

Lyle, the final vampire swung a violent backhand which caught Buffy in the face. As she stumbled back, Lyle reached down and scooped his brother's hat which had been blown into the air as his brother exploded. He put the hat on his head, and glared at Buffy, eyes filled with hate. "This ain't over, Slayer!" he spat before turning and running off into the night.

Buffy thought of giving chase, but had a more important matter to take care of. The motorbike had circled back towards Buffy and slowed to a stop, the rider dismounting. The rider gave Buffy a cocky grin and ran a hand through his brown hair. Buffy raced towards him and gave him a big kiss on the lips. When they parted she finally spoke. "Hello Pike."

He grinned again. "Long time no see, Buffy. Still staying on top of the slaying I see.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's not exactly something I can quit. Tried that once, didn't work out."

"Yeah," Pike nodded. "I seem to recall it ended with our school gym being burnt down."

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him. "You _are_ still in school right?"

"Nah, dropped out."

"Pike!" Buffy gasped.

"Stress less slayer, you'll live longer."

"In my line of business, living longer is everything." Buffy said.

"How bout yourself? You still in school?"

"Sort of." Buffy said. "My new Watcher home-schools me."

"Sweet Jesus." Pike said. "And here I was thinking vampires were the worst thing in your life."

Buffy let out a laugh, and as she did, she realized how long it had been since she really had laughed. It seemed like a lifetime ago. "I really miss Merrick." She said. "If you think he was stuffy, wait till you meet Dr. McJerkwad."

"Is that really his name?" Pike asked.

"No." said Buffy. "His name is Mr. Stevenson and he's a total douche-bag. He thinks he like, owns me or something. Like I'm nothing more than a tool for the Watcher's Council."

"Why do you put up with it?" Pike asked. "I mean, you could kick the ass of anyone."

Buffy sighed and looked sadly at the ground. "This is my destiny Pike. I may as well get used to it. Mr. Stevenson gives me training, and information. Everything I need to kill the vamps and stay alive. Think of how many innocent people would die if I didn't devote myself to slaying completely."

"Buffy, you can't live your life like that. Worrying about other people dying because you're not spending your afternoons doing push-ups. Don't you have any friends here?"

Buffy's silence answered Pike's question for him. "What brings you to Cleveland?" Buffy finally asked him.

"There's nothing else in my life right now," said Pike. "I dropped out of school and… I really missed you Buffy."

Buffy threw her arms around him. "I missed you too Pike, but you can't stay. It's too dangerous here and besides, Stevenson would hate it if I had a boyfriend."

"Is that what I am?" Pike asked.

Buffy looked to the ground, her face burned scarlet. "It's great to see you Pike, it really is, but you can't stay."

Pike grinned. "You might be the slayer, but it's a free country. I don't care what you or Dr. McJerkwad thinks. I'm staying and that's that. Ever since we broke up in Vegas I couldn't stop thinking about you and what kind of danger you'll be getting yourself into. I want to be a part of that."

"Pike, I don't know if I'm ready for another relationship."

"Boyfriend or not," Pike said. "I still want to be there."

"You heard that vampire, he said this isn't over. You're putting yourself in serious danger by being around me Pike. His name is Lyle Gorch and he's bad news."

"Well then, I guess I'd better stick around just to make sure you're safe."

"My Watcher will _not_ like this." Buffy said.

"Your Watcher –in fact, the whole Council of Watchers can kiss my ass as far as I'm concerned," said Pike.

* * *

**Mayor's office, Sunnydale, California**

Amy Madison raced through the quiet streets of Sunnydale fighting back tears. Several times while she was running she thought she heard vampires chasing her, but when she arrived at the Mayor's office, and finally looked back, nobody was behind her. She finally stopped at the steps and threw up. She said a silent prayer of thanks as she saw the light coming from the Mayor's window. The doors to the building were locked so she tapped on the window.

The Mayor looked up from his desk in shock and as soon as he spotted Amy, he rushed to the doors to let her in.

"Amy!" he scolded. "What did I tell you about staying out after dark? It's so gosh-darned dangerous out here these days."

Finally she let out a steady stream of tears. "My father… and my stepmom... they've both been killed."

Mayor Richard Wilkins looked into her eyes and drew her into a warm embrace. "Amy… I'm so sorry," he said. "Was it vampires?"

"Yes." She said. "I got home and they were dead on the floor, with bite marks across their necks. They must have tricked him into inviting them in."

Mayor Wilkins led her into his office where he poured her a hot coca and offered her a box of tissues. "Amy, I promise you that this will not go unpunished," he said sternly.

"I thought it would be all over when Angelus and I closed the Hellmouth," Amy said between sobs.

"Unfortunately Amy, while you kept the Hellmouth closed, the Master and all his vampires still walk free. I have a feeling they are going to try to take this town."

"You're going to stop them, right?"

Mayor Wilkins looked into Amy's eyes sadly. "I wish I could Amy, I really wish I could. But there's a natural order of things you see. Vampires are higher than humans in the natural hierarchy. It's the way things are and the way things should always be. Regular people are but prey for them."

Amy let out a gasp of shock.

"Regular humans are nothing but cattle for the slaughter, Amy. No potential whatsoever except for demon food."

"That's not true!" Amy shouted.

"But you're not a regular person, Amy. You're a witch. Witches are more powerful that vampires and under my guidance Amy, I can see you becoming strong enough to have your revenge. In the meantime, I'll set up a place for you to stay. It will be paid for with tax dollars, and if you ever need anything, please call me."

"What's going to happen to all the regular people when the vampires take over?" Amy asked.

"If they're smart, they'll stay indoors." Mr. Wilkins said. "They'll go about their business and accept the way things are. The smart ones will be the ones who can integrate themselves into the new society. Traditionally, though, people aren't smart. I imagine there'll be quite a hefty death toll before people finally wise up."

"This natural hierarchy you speak of…" Amy began. "If vampires are better than regular humans, and witches like me are better than vampires… who's on the top?"

The Mayor smiled fondly. "Higher than vampires and even witches, is the Old Ones."

"Old Ones?" Amy asked.

"Sadly, they are extinct." Mr. Wilkins continued. "They were the original demonic race. Vampires and the various species of demon you'll see nowadays are all descended from the Old Ones. They were truly magnificent creatures. There simply is no higher form of life. If an Old One were to resurface, it should be respected and worshiped by everyone on the planet."

"If the Old Demons are so great," said Amy. "It's a shame they're extinct."

"Yes," said Mayor Wilkins knowingly, "a terrible shame."


	14. Chapter 14

**Dublin, Ireland**

**December 25, 1838**

As Daniel O'Conner hurried down the busy Dublin street, he shivered from both the bitter cold and awful dread hanging over him. _It'll be all over by the end of the week_ he silently told himself. _I'll be a new man, married and responsible. _The path to salvation was a tough and narrow one. Daniel had always had a love of drink and gambling. He swore to himself that he would give that up as soon as he was married. He chanced a look behind him as he trudged through the snow, ignoring the carolers singing by the shop windows.

Daniel walked even faster now, trying to keep his mind off the man that as probably looking for him. _A Christmas wedding! _He couldn't wait to get home and light up a nice big fire. Once he was past the threshold of his front door, he knew that both himself and his bride to be would be safe.

_The wedding. _He chanced another look behind him. He tried to keep his thoughts on his bride and all the gifts they'd receive. Daniel hoped that among his wedding gifts would be a large sum of money. Then he could pay off his gambling debts, burn all of his playing cards and be rid of his demons forever. _I'll be sure to be given some money_ Daniel tried to convince himself. _Might even get enough cash to pay the boys a bit of interest._

Daniels thoughts were interrupted by a pair of rough hands snatching him by the shoulders and pulling him into the alleyway. Before him stood a handsome man whose face Daniel had learned to dread. People in the street continued to go about their business, paying Daniel and the other man no heed.

"Daniel," greeted the terrifying man with the angelic face. "Where were you going?"

"You!" gasped Daniel, "you're not human."

The other man nodded. "Not of late, no." Daniel knew that the man was in fact a vampire renowned for his cruelty and brutality. He knew that it had been a mistake to drink and gamble with Angelus, but his vices had gotten the better of him, and over the past few weeks Daniel had made some very poor decisions indeed.

"Wh-what do you want?" Daniel asked.

"Well, it happens that I'm hungry Daniel," Angelus began, smugly enjoying the fear that was running through Daniel. "And seeing as that you're somewhat in me debt…"

"Please, I can't!" Daniel pleaded, his fingers searching his empty pockets for anything that might appease the vampire.

Angelus' unyielding expression bore into Daniel. "A man playing at cards should have a natural intelligence or a great deal of money, and you're sadly lacking in both."

Daniel turned to run, but the vampires powerful hands grasped Daniel's coat and pulled him in close. "So I'll take me winnings me own way." Angelus said softly.

"The lord is my shepherd," Daniel began. "I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures-"

"Daniel!" Angelus interrupted. "Be of good cheer! It's Christmas!" With that Angelus lowered his head and violently bit into Daniel's neck, tasting the man's fear burning through the blood. Daniel was a stupid man. His fiancé would no doubt be better off without him. Still, Angelus never doubted the grief and heartache she would feel when Daniel's cold, dead body was discovered.

His hunger slated, Angelus pulled a cheap whiskey flask from his coat pocket. The vampire took a swig, then tucked the flask into Daniel's shirt pocket. "Merry Christmas, Daniel," Angelus said to the lifeless body. Daniel would be remembered by his loved ones as a drunken fool, a man who spent Christmas eve drinking whiskey in an alley instead of being at home with his family. It reminded Angelus of his own human years. Perhaps that was what disgusted Angelus about the man the most.

As a final insult to the man's corpse, Angelus knelt down, and with an enlongated index finger, scratched two lines into the man's cheek. A long vertical line, and a shorter horizontal line. Angelus grinned at the symbol he had carved into his victim's face. An inverted cross, a mockery of Christ on the eve of his birthday.

* * *

**Sunnydale High, courtyard**

**1997**

The past few days had been difficult for Amy. She'd endured painful telepathic memories from the vampire Angelus, and had lost her father and stepmother to vampire attacks. She'd stopped the Hellmouth from opening, but an ancient sect of vampires was loose, and intent on taking over the town.

Yet here she was, back at school, and perhaps more importantly, back in her own body. Her mother, Catherine Madison was dead and yet Amy felt no sadness for that. The woman that had kept her prisoner for years deserved no pity. Now being back at Sunnydale High, Amy felt completely out of the loop. She was surrounded by teachers and students that she hadn't seen in years, but they had seen _her_ every day. Difficult as it may prove, Amy was determined to adjust. She spent most of her first day watching everyone, wondering what she'd been missing out on, and laughing at jokes she didn't understand and asking people seemingly stupid questions.

"Um, excuse me Cordy," Amy approached the most popular girl in the school. "Could you tell me the way to the gym… I've um, forgot."

Cordelia just glared at Amy. "Very funny, Amy. If you're on your way there for the cheerleading tryouts this afternoon, let me tell you right now that you shouldn't bother."

"Excuse me?" Amy said, taken aback,

"Should I speak more slowly?" Cordelia said. "What's your deficiency Amy? Everyone says you've been acting weird all day."

Amy gave a nervous laugh. "Just having one of those days I guess."

"Yeah, well, stay out of mine." Cordelia snapped. "If you make it into the cheerleading squad and I don't, there'll be hell to pay."

"Cordy, I'm not the least bit interested in cheerleading." Amy insisted.

"Yeah right," Cordy scoffed. "Like you haven't been practicing all year, and bragging about how your mom won the cheerleading trophy when she was in Sunnydale."

Amy shuddered at the mention of her mother. "I've been doing all that?"

"You bet your badly dressed ass you have. Everyone is sick of it, so just shut up about your mom already."

Amy nodded. "I can promise you right now that I won't be bragging about my mother ever again," she said coldly.

"Well thank god for that."

Cordelia and Amy were both startled by a third voice, a male. "And what makes you think you'll make the cheer squad Cordy?" Amy and Cordelia both turned to see a skinny goth student. His innocent looking face was decorated with pasty foundation and black eyeliner.

"And what makes you think you can address me you gothic weirdo," Cordy retorted.

"I was just wondering if I could have a few strands of your hair for a spell I'm doing," the goth kid said with a piercing grin.

"A spell?" Cordy scoffed.

"That's right. A magic spell." The goth gave Amy a wink, and she looked to the ground.

"MC, you are so weird." Cordy said uncomfortably. "Now if the two of you will excuse me, I'm going to go talk to someone who's on my own level." With that, Cordelia turned and stalked away.

"Cordelia Chase." Said the goth with a smirk. "I'm so tempted to have her wake up tomorrow with a mustache."

"You could do that?" Amy said.

"I'm sure I could pull something like that off. But I know I shouldn't. I don't like drawing too much attention to myself, especially not with the whole vampire thing going on."

"Um… This might sound really stupid," Amy said, "but do I know you?"

"We've met a couple of times." The goth replied. "My name is Michael Czajak. And you're Amy Madison."

Amy blushed. "I know it must seem so stupid me asking that if we've already met."

"Not at all." Michael replied. "I said we'd met a couple of times, but we've never gotten to know each other. To be honest I've kinda avoided you up until now."

"Was I a bitch?" Amy asked.

"That would be an understatement." MC said. "But it wasn't just that. I've been doing magic for a few years now, and I could sense something wrong with your aura."

"Really?" Amy asked.

"Yeah. Most people have this sense of wholeness and unity about them, but not you. At least not until now. Before today your aura was all fragmented. Like something was in there that wasn't supposed to be. And I could sense real power. You've still got some of that but to a much lesser degree."

Amy decided that she could be honest with this guy. "My mother body-switched with me for the past few years. She said I was wasting my youth and didn't deserve it."

"Holy sweet shit, that's awful." Michael said.

"Yeah. The Mayor of this town has really helped me out. He got me switched back and has given me a place to stay."

"I'm part of a coven," Michael said. "You should join. We could totally help you adjust and stuff."

Amy beamed, "That sounds really great. Thank you."

Michael smiled back. "No probs. Just introduce me to Mayor Wilkins sometime. He seems like a great guy."

* * *

**Sunnydale High Library**

"Well you might not think it's important," Giles explained into the telephone to his superiors in England, "But I just think that you should be aware."

"Are you going to call us every time a boy has nightmares?" Mr. Travers asked.

"I've spoken with him personally, Giles said. "Ben isn't a boy, he's a young man. Studying to be a doctor in fact. And as a Watcher, I find the nature of his nightmares most troubling. He was able to correctly identify the creatures that attacked _The Bronze_ as vampires, and he says that he's been dreaming of demons as well. Furthermore, in his dreams he identifies himself as a _woman_ of great power."

"Rupert Giles," Mr. Travers began in his most condescending manner. "I sincerely hope you aren't suggesting that this Ben fellow has any connection with the Slayer line.

"Well, I never said-"

"Every watcher knows that the slayer has always, and will always be female, as unfortunate as that may be. This young man you speak of is not a vampire slayer, and I find the mere notion of it a waste of the Council's time."

"I never suggested that he was a Slayer." Giles said curtly. "Merely that at the very least, it might warrant some looking into. Apparently Ben dreams that he is surrounded by demons and vampires kneeling before him calling out for 'glory' or something like that."

"Are things on the Hellmouth really so dull that you would make such a mundane and fabricated report?"

"The Hellmouth can be described as many things," said Giles, feeling frustration building up inside him, "describing the Hellmouth as _dull_ however would hardly be correct."

"Mr. Giles, this attitude of yours was a contributing factor as to why you don't have the Slayer in your stead."

Giles resisted the urge to say something profane and disrespectful to his boss. "Very well. I appreciate your position," Giles lied.

"Thank you for the report," said Mr. Travers through the phone. "As stupid as I find it, I'll nonetheless have some of my people look over it."

"Thank you. Good-day, Mr. Travers."

"Goodnight, Mr. Giles."

With that, Giles hung up the telephone.

Giles gritted his teeth with frustration and anger as he tore open the large cardboard box that had just arrived. _Ah good. The computer textbooks have arrived_ he thought to himself, his mood slightly improved now that Ms. Calendar might stop bothering him about the books.

_Ms. Calendar._ Why had she been on his mind lately? Giles assured himself that there was nothing about the woman that he could possibly find attractive. Apart from her stunning good looks of course. But aside from that, there was nothing about her (surely!) that warranted her occupying Giles' thoughts like this. She was just so… pushy and …annoying. And she probably had no idea about the supernatural. They were nothing alike and Giles convinced himself that nothing could ever happen between them. They were just too different. Besides, Giles had more important matters to worry about, like the Master and the Hellmouth and the three students that had just entered the library and were approaching him.

Giles let out an awkward cough. "Xander. What can I do for you and your friends?"

The larger of the three students shifted uncomfortably, clearly annoyed at being referred to as Xander's friend.

"We're here on a mission, bookman." Xander responded. "Myself, Larry and Oz here have decided to rid our fair town of the vamps, and we've decided that since you already know all about the ooglie-booglies, you can join our party."

"After everything I told you last night!" Giles began. "Of all the stupid ideas -"

"We're called the Whitehats," Xander interrupted.

Giles paused mid-sentece. "The _Whitehats_?"

"Yeah, from the old westerns," Larry said.

"The good guys." Oz added.

Giles took a deep breath. "Gentlemen." He addressed the three students at last. "I appreciate what you are trying to achieve, and I'm sure at the heart of your idiocy there is some sort of nobility that ought to be congratulated, but I will not permit you to drive around in a van at night… thrill-seeking."

"You won't _permit_ us?" Larry scoffed. "We're vampire hunters whether you're with us or not."

Giles removed his glasses and gave them a polish. "I really must protest…."

"Protest all you want." Xander said. "My friends are missing and I'm not leaving a vampire undusted until I find them."

"I suppose if the three of you want to get yourselves killed there's little I can do to stop you." Giles admitted. "All the same, the three of you have no idea what you're getting yourselves into."

"We were at the _Harvest_." Larry reminded him. "I think we have a pretty freaking good idea what we're getting into. In fact, I spent all last night having nightmares about it."

"The Master is probably plotting the takeover of this town right now." Giles said. "As horrific as the _Harvest_ was, it's going to be the least of your worries."

"Bring on the bad guys then." Xander said, reaching into his coat and pulling out a neatly turned and styled stake of wood. "Nicest damn stake you've ever seen or what?" Xander said with a grin. "I always was good at woodshop. Just about the only class I _am_ good at."

Giles returned the glasses to his face. "You're going to really do this aren't you. Wage war on the vampires in spite of my disapproval."

"They waged the war on us." Xander shot back.

"We're going to do this Giles." Oz spoke for the second time since he entered. "With or without you. Wouldn't you us do this with you watching our backs?"

Giles couldn't help but smile. "Watch your backs?"

"Not in a gay way though." Larry said quickly.

"Sweet zombie Jesus, grow up would 'ya Larry?" Xander scoffed. "Bookman, the rub of it is, we're going to fight the vamps whether you want us to or not. Either we can do it blind, or with you helping us. You seem to know a lot about the Master, the Harvest and all that crap. We think you'd make an important asset to the team."

Giles took a deep breath, knowing that his life was about to change, quite possibly for the worse. These boys were about to entangle themselves in a supernatural war. He knew he couldn't let them do it alone. Besides, he felt a warm glow that he hadn't felt ever since the Watcher's Council denied him the chance to work with the Slayer. For the first time in years, Giles knew that his knowlege and opinions would be appreciated.

"Alright." He said softly. "I'm in."

* * *

**Sunndale Zoo, outside the hyena den**

Dr. Werick, the zoo warden stood over the body of the girl he just murdered, and he felt nothing. No surge of primal energy, no savage strength, nothing. He'd slit the drugged girl's throat in front of the caged beasts and they'd given him no reward.

He slammed his palm against the wall in rage. It hurt. He glared at the beasts inside the cage. "What am I doing wrong?" he asked the hyenas in desperation. His only response was a cackling laugh from the spotted creatures. It was as though they were mocking him in unison. Warrick let out a sigh as he stepped back into the pentagram painted onto the stone floor. "Time to get rid of the evidence then," he said as he roughly lifted the girl's corpse from the ground and with a quick motion tossed the body into the cage. Almost immediately the monsters within began to devour the still-warm flesh from the girl.

Dr. Werick wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. "I will make myself worthy," he said the beasts in the cage his face contorted with anger. "I will figure it out. I'll be fucking damned if I don't."


	15. Chapter 15

Amy grinned as the feather twisted through the air completely under her control. She was a little nervous at first about attempting magick in front of the whole coven, a bunch of people she hardly knew watching her. But now, she was having the time of her life. Amy focused and mentally yanked the feather a few feet higher.

"You're doing great Amy," Michael said. "See if you can do a lap of the circle."

Amy nodded. Slowly and shakily the feather floated around the ring of people. It wasn't a perfect loop but judging by the nods and whispers, the coven was clearly impressed. Once the feather reached Amy again, she made it do another loop -this time faster, making a slight whistle as the feather pushed against the air.

"When you reach me, try to place it in my hand," said Michael, reaching his hand out palm facing up.

Amy halted the feather in midair above Michael's palm. She strained, trying to telekinetically drop the feather, but instead it went soaring up near the roof. Amy's face went red as several people struggled to repress their giggling.

"Just relax Amy," Michael said. "Just lower it, little by little."

It took nearly full minute but once again, the feather had almost reached Michaels palm. Only a few inches to go. Amy closed her eyes, blocking out Michael, the coven, the room, everything. In her mind's eye there was nothing but the feather. No school, no vampires, no Sunnydale, just the feather under her complete subjugation.

There was a small pop as the feather exploded and Michael yanked his hand back in shock.

"I think I gripped it too hard," Amy said, opening her eyes.

Michael let out a small laugh, "That's okay. It was good for a first attempt. You've got a lot of power but what you need to work on is control."

"Control, yeah." Amy agreed.

"Try to focus less on the feather itself, and more on where it's going."

"I hope I didn't zap your hand," said Amy.

Michael grinned, his teeth and gothic makeup almost making his face seem like a skull. "I don't think an exploding feather will do any lasting damage. You want to try again?"

"Sure."

Michael turned to the girl next to him, a shy girl with sandy blonde hair. "Tara, could I please have another feather?"

"O-okay," she stuttered and reached into her backpack producing another feather. "H-here you go Amy." The feather gently floated up from Tara's hand and made its way to the opposite side of the circle where it seemed to reverse-parallel park itself in Amy's extended palm.

_Show off. _Amy thought to herself. _I wonder what else is happening in town tonight_.

* * *

On the other side of town, Willow and Thomas were enjoying a date. They were walking down a quiet street following a delicious looking woman home. The plan was to figure out which house was hers, and kill her before she entered, getting a home and a snack in the one night. 

"So yeah, now that the owner, manager, bouncers and most of the bar staff have been sired, _the Bronze_ is pretty much ours." Thomas said to Willow, being careful not to follow the woman too closely. "It works out pretty conveniently for everyone, really. The best club in town will start catering specifically to vampires, and the staff will all get to keep doing their jobs."

"That's great." Willow said. "I'd hate to think being dead means I can't hang out at my favorite club."

"My god she looks tasty," Thomas said quietly, regarding the woman in front of them. "In more ways than one."

"Tell me about it," Willow agreed.

Thomas glanced up at her "Didn't know you swung that way babe."

Willow smiled seductively, "Don't know myself until I try it."

"That something you're planning to do?"

"Jealous?" Willow asked the other vampire.

"Hell no," said Thomas. "If you're open to that kinda thing it opens up the door for a three-way."

"And who say's you'd get to join in on the action?" said Willow, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Me, by virtue of being the boyfriend."

Willow merely rolled her eyes.

"Try to have a crack at Darla," Thomas suggested. "I've been trying to tap that for years."

"Nice to know," Willow said scornfully.

"Just being honest," Thomas said smugly. "Word is she's still too hung up on her ex to want something serious, but that doesn't mean she won't want something more casual."

"Her ex?" asked Willow. "Wasn't that like, a hundred years ago?"

"Yeah, but he's not the sort of guy who'd be easy to forget," Thomas said. "His name is Angelus and he's supposed to be the baddest there is."

"I'd have to see that to believe it." Willow said. In her short time as a vampire, she had quickly learned how much the undead in general loved to brag. One jerk even claimed to have been at the crucifixion. Yeah right.

"He's the only vampire to ever outright insult the Master and walk away from it."

"Speaking of the big boss," Willow began, "He's around here somewhere. I can sense him."

"You can _sense_ him?" Thomas scoffed.

"Yeah, he's somewhere nearby."

"Whatever you say," Thomas said, filled with disbelief. Cute as she was, there was no way this fledgling could sense the Master if Thomas himself couldn't. She was no doubt imagining things.

"So if this Angelus guy is supposed to be such a bad boy, why would Darla ever leave him?" Willow asked, returning the conversation back to Darla and her dark Angel.

"Nobody really knows," said Thomas. "Well, some of the high ranking vamps probably know but none of them will talk about it. Luke told me it had something to do with a gypsy curse. There haven't been any stories about him lately and he stays away from other vampires, so I'm thinking the gypsies turned his fangs into marshmallows or something."

Willow and Thomas had been so engaged in their conversation about threesomes, vampire legends and marshmallows that the didn't even notice that the attractive woman they had been stalking had stopped and was now facing them.

"Well, hello there," Thomas said swaggering forward. "And what would you be doing all alone on a night like this."

The woman grinned, winking at Thomas. "Oh, you know just looking for a bit of fun."

Willow pouted and grabbed Thomas's arm defensively. "What do you know, so are we." Willow said.

"Sorry, hun' not interested in girls," the woman said, coldly turning down Willow. "You, on the other hand…" she stepped close to Thomas and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in through her nostrils as though sniffing the young man out. Finally she opened her eyes and addressed Thomas with a trace of disappointment in her voice. "Sorry gorgeous, not interested in you either."

Thomas scowled, clearly disappointed too. "C'mon, baby," he pressed, much to Willow's disgust. "I've got _plenty_ of experience if you know what I mean."

"I know," said the woman. "And that's why I'm not interested." She turned to leave when Thomas grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, shifting into his vampire face.

"Well if you're not in the mood for foreplay, we can cut right to the penetration." He lunged at her, his fangs aimed at her neck.

The woman raised her arms defensively and managed to push Thomas away. "Well that's a scary face," she said, observing Thomas's vampire form. "But mine's scarier." In a matter of seconds the woman's face turned green, her eyes bulging out before dividing into dozens of tiny black eyes. She grew to about seven feet in height, and her fingers melted together to form the rough, serrated forelegs of a praying mantis.

"Holy shit!" Thomas exclaimed in surprise.

"_I said. I wasn't. Interested,_" the giant mantis hissed through thick mandibles. She slashed out with a foreleg, leaving a deep gash in Thomas's chest, and knocking him to the ground. Willow rushed forward to attack but the creature was too fast. In a lightning fast snap the mantis bashed Willow across the face with the blunt side of one leg. Stunned, Willow was unable to react when the monster lunged forward and wrapped her serrated foreleg around Willow's throat. Willow struggled, but the mantis-creature had her in an unbreakable hold. Willow could feel the monster's grip tighten, the sharp serrations cutting into her throat. She tried to scream out for Thomas to help her, but no noise could escape her mouth.

Thomas rose to his feet and gasped in shock at the helpless form of Willow being choked by the insect-like monster. He knew that although Willow didn't need to breathe, decapitation would kill her, and she was probably moments away from that fate. The mantis raised its other forearm and snapped it open and closed as though issuing a challenge.

Thomas relaxed his face, allowing it to shift back from vampire to its more human form. "Sorry, Willow." He said. He turned and ran.

* * *

**meanwhile...**

Cordelia and Nancy were making their way home after stopping by the ice-cream bar.

"Thanks for hanging out with me Nancy," Cordelia said. "All my friends have ditched me ever since I had that fight with Harmony. And since I made the cheerleading squad today, I just had to celebrate with somebody."

"That's no problem Cordy," Nancy said. "I just wish we left earlier, it's pretty dark now, and I don't want to run into any… you know."

"Vampires?" Cordelia said. "Please. We'll be fine. By the way, have I told you how much I love that shirt you're wearing?"

"Thanks," said Nancy, glad that someone had noticed her new red shirt.

"You don't think it was tacky for me to go to the ice-cream bar in my cheerleading outfit did you?" asked Cordy. "I mean, I _did_ just make the squad, I think it's only fair that the world gets to know."

"Can we get a cab?" Nancy asked feeling worried about how dark it was as they took a shortcut through an abandoned parking lot.

"Good luck finding one in this town," Cordy said. "Nancy, don't worry we're almost home and we've had no trouble. Next time I promise we can leave earlier."

"I'd very much appreciate that," said Nancy with a shiver.

"Oh, crap," said Cordy she noticed three hulking figures clad in leather and battle armor step out from behind a building in head straight towards them. "It's some nerds from a Middle Earth convention, try to avoid eye contact."

"Double crap," said Nancy as she noticed that the three armored men had yellow eyes, ridged foreheads and sharp fangs protruding from their jaws.

* * *

Angel stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned around sharply. "Who are you, and why are you following me?" he said to the dark haired woman who had been following him.

"I -I'm not following you." The woman lied.

Angel took a step towards her and said "You've been following me for five blocks now. I'm very good at picking up on things like that."

"Okay… so maybe I have been following you." The woman stepped back nervously.

Angel noticed the fear in the woman's eyes. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Right." The woman said, clearly not believing him. Angel noticed that the woman was attractive and seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties.

Angel raised both his palms and said gently "You've been following me. It's dangerous out here. Let me walk you home. What's your name."

"My name is… Jana." The woman, who was in fact Ms. Calendar said.

"I'm Angel."

"I know," said the woman.

"If you know who I am," said Angel, "then I think it's safe to say you also know what I am."

"Yes," said Jana. "I also know about the curse."

"Great," Angel said angrily. "Is there one person in the town that doesn't know about me and my soul?"

"Look, I should go," said Jana. "I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable but there are some things about myself I just can't tell you."

"Right," said Angel suspiciously. "Let me walk you home, I'd hate for you to be attacked by something _without_ a soul."

Jana consented and the two of them walked together until the reached a car park. The saw two girls, one in a cheerleading outfit and one in a red top and jeans being approached by three vampires.

"The Three," Angel said his voice slightly nervous. "Jana, run. I have to stop them from attacking those girls."

"Angel, I can't just-"

"Run." He said, turning to look at her. "I have to stop this." He reached into his coat and pulled out a stake. Without another word, Jana turned to run. Angel knew that he was no match against the Three. They were the Master's toughest warriors, battle hardened vampires who were so confident in their abilities, so devoted to their cause that they would offer their lives to the Mater if they ever found themselves tainted by failure, something that had not happened even once for centuries.

Still, even if he couldn't defeat them, maybe he could stall them long enough for these two girls to escape. He stepped out of the shadows. "Three against, two?" he said loudly, attracting the attention of the vampires. "That hardly seems fair."

"Angelus," sneered one of the vampires.

"The one and only," said Angel, brandishing his stake. "Let's see if we can even the odds."

* * *

_Author's note: Willow, Cordy and Nancy all in peril! Oh no. Please read and review if you wanna see more. Let me know what you're liking about the story and what you're not liking so much. Who's storylines are you finding the most interesting? I wanted to have the Whitehats in this chapter but just didn't have room. They'll be in the next chapter._


	16. Chapter 16

Willow struggled with all of her vampire strength to break the monster's grip on her. It was no use.

"_Filthy vampire,_" the oversized insect hissed. Willow felt the creature's serrated forelegs cutting into her neck, blood trickling down to her chest as the mantis gripped her tighter.

_So this is how the life of the great Willow Rosenberg ends, _Willow thought bitterly to herself. _Turned into a vampire, ditched by her jackass boyfriend and then decapitated by a giant praying mantis._

The mantis leaned closer, its giant mandibles brushing her ear. "_I normally bite the heads of virgin males_," the mantis hissed. "_Like I said, I'm not into other girls -and certainly not the slutty vampire variety. Just know that when I do this, it's out of convenice. Don't go thinking it __**means**__ anything_."

"You're breaking my dead heart," Willow managed to sarcastically choke out. She knew quite well that for a female praying mantis, decapitation usually went hand in hand with mating. "I thought I meant more to you."

The mantis let out a sinister chuckle before placing it's mandibles around Willow's head.

Willow prepared herself for oblivion when once again she sensed a familiar presence nearby. Has Thomas returned? No.

The mantis unexpectedly released its grip on her and they were both suddenly thrown to the pavement. Willow scrambled to get up, quickly moving back from the insect that was also struggling to find its feet. Willow grinned and vamped out when she recognized her savior.

"Thank the Lower Being's _you_ turned up!" she said to the Master. "Where's a giant can of bug spray when you need one?"

The Master allowed himself a foul grin as he stepped forward. "Ms. French." He addressed the giant mantis. "I believe I have tolerated your presence in this town for far too long."

The mantis lunged forward at lightning speed, it's forelegs snapping at the Master's throat. With surprising reflexes, the Master stepped aside and allowed the mantis to charge past. The mantis twisted it's head 180 degrees and hissed. Willow stepped forward to protect her sire when the Master turned to her and raised a hand. "Your assistance here is not necessary, Willow. Just watch and learn."

The Master stepped forward and confidently landed a punch square in the insect's face. The mantis responded by slamming a foreleg into the ancient vampire's chest, piercing the leather and cutting deep into pale, dead flesh.

With both hands the Master gripped the foreleg, first sliding it out of his chest, then with a dry, sickening pop completely tearing it free from the insect's body.

The monster screamed as it's arm was ripped off. It reared back kicking at the Master with several smaller legs. Using the giant claw, the Master swung back, sinking the foreleg into the creature's exposed belly.

The mantis dropped to the ground, struggling in vain to get up. The Master sunk to his knees positioning himself at eye level with the creature. "There's nothing like the triumph of defeating a worthy opponent. Sadly, you are not one." With both hands he reached forward and tore the creature's head clean off. The dead body of the mantis dropped to the street, it's inhuman gizzards flowing onto the tar leaving behind a dead husk.

As the Master stood up, brushing himself off, Willow rushed forward and dropped to her knees.

"Thank you, thank you thank you!" she gasped. "You saved me from that …_thing_."

The Master lowered his hand offering it to Willow to kiss. She involuntarily twitched her nose in disgust, but obliged. The Master _had_ just saved her life after all.

"Those who are loyal me reap great rewards. Any attack on those in my service is an affront to me," the Master said as he reached forward helping Willow to her feet. "Your life belongs to me and anybody who steals from me will die in the most humiliating way possible. Point in case." He said gesturing the dead shell of the mantis.

"Your chest," Willow said, motioning to the gash in the Master's leather where blood was beginning to stain. "Is the wound bad?"

"We heal quickly," said the Master. "Any non fatal damage done to me will be healed in a matter of hours. I'm far more concerned with the damage done to my clothing."

Willow grinned. "We can always threaten someone into repairing it. Then we can eat them."

The Master beamed. "Now you're understanding what it means to be a vampire. You can have and take whatever you want." He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the town around him. "Nothing is sacred. Anything in this town -this _world_ is ours for the taking. Most of the pathetic humans will be begging to be a part of our master race and anybody foolish enough to stand in our way will meet their bloody demise."

* * *

Angel swung his fist into the face of the first vampire, then followed up with a roundhouse kick knocking the vampire to the ground. He lunged forward, preparing to sink his wooden stake into the vampires chest when he was grabbed roughly by the second vampire. The third vampire stepped forward and punched him in the gut.

"Angelus," snarled the vampire who had stepped up from the ground. "We can smell your mortal soul. It's revolting."

"You sure it's not your own breath?" Angel quipped back, breaking free of the vampire's hold. "When's the last time you brushed?" He lunged forward with the stake once again the vampire easily deflected it. "Run!" Angel said to both Cordelia and Nancy. Before Angel could resume his fighting stance, a vampire fist slammed into his face. Angel fell back, dropping his stake.

One of the vampires moved towards the two girls but was quickly called off by his leader. "Let them go," the vampire snarled. "The Hellmouth has given us somebody more interesting to play with."

"Is this for me?" the second vampire said, picking the stake from the ground and twirling it.

"Yeah, it's for you." Angel said as the other two vampires twisted his arms behind his back, holding him in a firm grip.

"A gift?" the vampire mocked. "I'm touched."

"I was hoping it would touch your heart," said Angel.

"That's Angelus for you," the vampire said to his two brothers. "The world might shit all over him, but he's never one to lose his sense of humor."

"Glad you're a fan," Angel said as he struggled hopelessly against the two vampires holding him.

"I _was_ a fan," the vampire corrected. "Your antics amused us all. Tell you what, tell us a good story and we might let you go."

Angel frowned. This was not going well. Not only did they have him helplessly pinned, they were mocking him as well. "Did you ever hear the one where I saved a puppy?" Angel offered.

"I was thinking more along the lines of what you did to Holtz the vampire hunter." The lead vampire grinned, enjoying the look of pain and remorese that passed across Angel's face.

Angel chanced a look at the girls, noticing that they hadn't run yet. "Run!" he screamed at the two girls.

"W-we can't just leave you!" the girl in the cheerleader outfit sobbed. "You saved us!"

"I said…" Angel began looking directly at the girls, "RUN!" He deliberately vamped out as he said the last word, his yellow eyes blazing. Upon seeing that he was a monster, just like their attackers, the two girls fled, just like Angel hoped. He used his demon strength to toss aside the two vampires holding him, and charged at the third.

The lead vampire swung his arm forward, nailing Angel in the chest with his own stake. Angel dropped to the ground in pain. "You missed the heart," he said yanking the shaft of wood from his chest.

"I know," the vampire growled. "The Master would kill us himself if we ashed you." He kicked Angel violently in the face as the other two vampires yanked him to his feet. "The boss wants you at his right hand. He wants Angelus back."

"Too bad." Angel said, shifting his face back to human. "I'm not like you anymore."

"We don't believe that for a second." The vampire said as he punched Angel in the gut. "Angelus is in there somewhere." His fist connected with Angel's face this time. "He just needs the right motivation. And I think I'm just the one to dish it out." Angel's head rolled back as he received another punch to the face. "Those girls won't make it far either," the vampire said. "They'll reach the end of the parking lot at best."

Angel glanced up, over the vampire's shoulder. "They might make if further than you think."

The vampire stopped beating Angel for a moment and chanced a look behind him. "Oh great. There goes dinner," he said as a van pulled into the parking lot and let the girls inside. "You're going to pay for that, Ang-" surprise prevented the vampire from finishing the sentence. Instead of pulling out of the parking lot, taking the girls to safety, the mysterious van had started to hurtle towards the vampires, steadily building speed. "Oh, shit."

The van slammed into the lead vampire, throwing him violently several feet. His head met the asphalt with a sickening crack. Angel used this distraction to break free of his captives and search the ground for his stake. Three figures leapt from the van and Angel shuddered as he saw each of them wearing a cross. He quickly scooped up his stake and prepared himself for combat.

"Looks like their leader is out of it for now," said a middle aged British man, gesturing to the unconscious body of the lead vampire, sprawled out on the ground.

"This should be too easy," said a large guy stepping forward.

"Be careful Larry," the British man instructed. "These vampires are The Three. They're powerful warriors."

"Don't look so tough to me," said Larry, brandishing a baseball bat. He ran forward and smacked a vampire in the shins. As the vampire dropped to the ground in pain, Angel hurled his stake, tossing it several feet with superhuman strength, nailing the vampire square in the heart.

"Did you see that!" Larry exclaimed as the vampire turned to dust. "I got him!"

"Great job Larry," said the third figure rolling his eyes. "Forget sunlight and holy water, a smack to the shins is the vamp's real weakness."

"You didn't see me nail him?" Larry said, turning to the third guy.

"I saw that," said the third guy. "I also saw our mystery man throw that stake."

"I've still killed more vamps than _you, _Harris."

The British man stepped forward armed with a bottle and a cigarette lighter.

"Molotov cocktail?" the lone remaining vampire sneered. "That's new."

The vampire charged forward, tossing Harris aside and knocked the baseball bat from Larry's hands. He grabbed Larry from behind and held him as a hostage between himself and the van of teenagers.

"I can't risk burning Larry," the British man said as he lowered the cigarette lighter. "We'll have to engage him in hand to hand combat."

"Don't dust him Giles," said the Harris kid, brandishing a short sword. "We still need to interrogate him about Willow and Jesse."

"Willow?" sneered the vampire, still gripping Larry. "She's the Master's new pet. Rivals with Darla for the boss's attentions."

"You're lying!" the Harris kid screamed, rushing forward.

"Xander, no!" Giles screamed.

The vampire grinned and shoved Larry to the ground. He let Xander rush him and easily smacked the kid's sword aside. "Friend of yours?" the vamp sneered. "Red hair? Leather corset? Dating Thomas? She's one of ours now." Xander fought back tears as the vampire grabbed him roughly and lifted him to his jaws.

Angel rushed forward, stake in hand. As the vampire prepared to sink his fangs into the boy's neck, Angel morphed his face into it's demon form and landed a powerful blow to the vampire's face. The vampire dropped Xander and began to exchange blows with Angel. Giles saw his chance and lit the Molotov cocktail, hurling it at the two vampires. Xander rolled out of the way as the flaming bottle hit the armored vampire square in the back. Angel jumped back and watched as the other vampire was consumed by flames. He glanced up at the van of people and before he could speak the driver's door opened. A boy with red hear and a sheepskin jacket leaned out, one hand gripping the steering wheel, the other holding a crossbow.

Angel tried to shift his face back to human, but it was too late. Everyone in the van had seen his vampire visage and the driver fired the crossbow. Angel raised his arm defensively to his chest –just in time. The wooden arrow punched through Angel's palm and stopped just before it touched his chest. Grunting in pain, Angel yanked the wooden round from his hand and turned to run, disappearing into the trees before the redhead could load another round into the crossbow.

"Should we follow?" Larry asked Giles.

Giles shook his head. "No. He was fast and knows we're in a van, so he'll avoid the roads. We're not going to catch him."

"Pity." Said Oz. "I nearly nailed him with the crossbow."

"He saved us!" said Cordelia, scolding the Whitehats. "You shouldn't have attacked him."

"Didn't you see the vamp face?" Xander asked.

"He was fighting the other vampires," said Nancy.

"Probably just wanted to snack on you himself," said Xander. "Willow… she… that guy was lying right?"

"I… I don't know," offered Giles, although in reality, he suspected that the vampire was probably being truthful. "We'll discuss that later. Right now it seems the last vampire has regained consciousness."

The final vampire, the one they had slammed the van into was slowly and groggily getting back to its feet, dripping blood all over the asphalt.

"We gonna dust him?" Xander asked.

"No." Giles replied.

"_What_?" Xander and Larry said at once.

"His brothers have been slain," Giles began. "And according to everything ever written about The Three, when this fellow makes it back to the Master, he'll be slain as punishment too."

"Dead man walking," Oz observed quietly.

"I hope he tells the boss about us then," said Larry.

"My thoughts exactly," said Giles. "If he tells the Master about us, if the Master realizes that there are those who still oppose him, it's possible that his plans to take over on a large scale may be… postponed."

"We can only hope," said Cordelia.

The vampire limped over to the van. He reached in vain at Larry but was easily punched to the ground.

Xander stepped forward clutching a stake, knowing exactly what to say. "I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about us."

"Who are you?" the vampire asked, much to Xander's joy.

"We're the Whitehats."

With that, the van door slammed shut and disappeared into the night.

* * *

"Quite the intimidating little speech you gave there Xander," said Giles.

"What can I say," said Xander, "I know when to be terrifying."

"Yeah, right," said Larry. "Quoting Batman? Do you have to make _everything_ lame?"

"I'm quoting quality material," said Xander. "I could have quoted the new one, with Clooney. Now _that_ would be lame."

"I think Xander pulled it off okay," said Oz. "I mean, he's no Keaton, but it was okay."

"I'll take the hotty George Clooney over that creepy little Keaton anyday," said Cordy.

The rest of the trip was filled with heated discussion. Not of vampires or apocalypses, but of rubber suits, Hollywood hunks, freeze-rays and bat-nipples.

"The world is doomed." Giles muttered quietly to himself.

* * *

After the van had left and the vampire had hobbled away, Jenny Calendar stepped out of the shadows nearby and couldn't help but grin. Rupert Giles, a secret vampire hunter? She never would have guessed.

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

**The Bronze, Sunnydale (daytime)**

"This news is highly disappointing," frowned the Master as the vampire kneeling before him recounted the tale of how Angel and the Whitehats had attacked and defeated his gang.

"My brothers are slain." The vampire told the three others in the room. "I have failed and brought shame upon our Order. I offer my life in penance."

The Master ignored the vampire's offer and turned to face Darla. "It sounds like these humans are the same ones that resisted Luke during the Harvest."

Luke shifted uncomfortably at the mention of his earlier failure. "What do we plan to do about this human threat, my lord?"

Darla scoffed. "Humans. They're the least of our concern. Angel and I have faced more than a few vampire hunters over the years. We've never met anyone we couldn't kill."

"You forget Holtz." Luke said, delighting in the hatred that shivered down Darla's spine.

"Holtz dropped off the face of the earth over two hundred years ago." Darla said, masking insecurity with bravado. "Angel and I butchered his whole family and he never got the chance to return the favor."

"He had ample opportunity to destroy Angelus." Luke corrected. "Perhaps he should have. Our ranks would have been purged of a highly overrated fledgling who would later become a rat-eating abomination."

Darla scowled, and longed to kill Luke in his sleep. But she dared not. "I think you underestimate Angel." She said curtly before turning to address the Master. "Angel could still make a valuable asset to our Order."

"If only he could be made to see the light," the Master mused. "Figuratively, of course." He added, glancing up at the blacked out windows, protecting all four of the vampires from the deadly sunlight outside. "Tell me," the Master once again addressed the kneeling vampire. "How were Angel's combat skills?"

"Angelus appeared to be sorely out of practice," the kneeling lackey said, "but rusty as his fighting skills may be, the spirit of his former self is still evident. Even for the Three, Angelus was not a vampire that could be subdued with ease."

"Allow me to face him, my lord." Luke said, puffing out his chest. "I shall drive wooden stakes into every part of his body -save for the heart. After facing me, his death by sunlight will seem merciful by comparison."

"I do not believe the outcome of such a battle is quite so cut and dried, Luke," the Master said. "While it is true you are a powerful warrior, I think you underestimate how powerful Angelus is. Or at least how powerful he _was._ Before he started killing his own kind, -which reminds me..."

A smile formed across Darla's face as she watched the Master pace over to the nearby pool table, and returned clutching a pool cue. The Master looked down at the last member of the Three. "You have failed me, it is true. But not all bad has become of this turn of events. You have provided me with useful information. Know that this is a good death. There's no shame in it. Darla, perhaps you could do the honors?"

Darla's yellowed eyes filled with delight as the Master handed her the pool cue. With one powerful motion she thrust the pool cue into the vampire's back. For a moment the vampire grimaced in pain as the smooth, chalked shaft of wood was driven through him. As he turned to dust, he smiled, his shame of defeat now erased forever. It was a good death.

The pool cue clattered against the floor, stirring the ash and smell of rot that collapsed around it.

The Master turned and paced over to the bar. "Angel." He said. "Tell me Darla, what is to be done about Angel? He is killing other vampires. I have a great respect for Angelus, but I cannot tolerate him killing my family indefinitely."

"These humans…" Darla began, "These… _Whitehats_ need to be dealt with. If we can win Angel over to our side, he would be an inspiration to vampires and demons everywhere. The Order of Aurelius could use Angel. He'd be a powerful ally to the Order."

"He's killing vampires!" Luke raged. "Like a human. Like a _Slayer._ We don't need a filthy turncoat in our ranks."

"Angelus was the most legendary vampire that ever walked the earth," hissed Darla. "A-apart from you of course, my lord." She added, in fear of angering the Master.

"What if he sides with the human?" suggested Luke. "Is it worth taking the risk that he could be an asset to the _Whitehats_?"

"The humans would never accept him." Darla said.

The Master picked up a newspaper from the bar. "And tell me Darla," he began. "Why is that?"

"Because he's a vampire."

"He has a human soul!" snarled Luke.

"You knew him." Darla pleaded with the Master. "You know what a monster he is. If we could just get him feeding from humans again…"

"Man and monster." began the Master. "One and the same. Things are not as simple as they were before I became trapped in the Hellmouth. Good and evil have both evolved, and so must we." The Master's blood red lips formed into a foul grin as he clutched the newspaper. "What is the solution for a monster who is acting like a man?" The room was filled with silence as the Master slammed the newspaper down onto the bar and flipped through it until he found what he was looking for. "Our solution is to find the man who is acting like a monster."

Darla and Luke followed the Master to the bar and looked at the newspaper page the Master was pointing at. The headline read: **Suspected murderer: Andrew Vorba –still at large.**

"A human monster," Darla observed.

"Are you suggesting that we turn him?" asked Luke

"He would make a fine vampire indeed," said the Master. "However my plan is to turn him against Angel –as a human."

Darla smiled. "Of course. Angel can handle himself against a human… but if we force him to defend himself… or defend others against a _human _evil…"

"We will tip the scales in our favor," said the Master. "Luke, I want you to find me Andrew Vorba. Darla, get Willow to research everything about this man. We'll have Angel drinking human blood before the month is out."

* * *

**School hall, Sunnydale**

Xander yawned as he hurried down the hallway, late for class again. At least this time he had a legitimate excuse. Late night vampire slaying with the Whitehats was something was taking a toll on his body's sleep pattern. Fortunately, he only had to sit through one class before the highlight of the school year: the Sunnydale zoo field trip.

It wasn't that Xander was especially interested in zoos, it was the sweet benefit of not being stuck behind a school desk that appealed to him. Plus, with last night's vampire hunting being the first of probably many, Xander decided to savor any chance he got to do something normal.

"Yo, Harris!" a familiar voice called out to him. Xander subconsciously prepared himself for a beating.

"Uh, hey Larry." Xander greeted the other guy. "What's up?"

"Not much." Larry replied. "Spoken to Oz or Giles?"

"Not since last night when we went out vampire hunting."

"Should we really be calling it that?" said Larry.

"Calling it what?"

"You know…" Larry lowered his voice. "Vampire hunting. Most people don't know. Should we, you know, call it something else? For when we talk about it in public?"

"Like what?" Xander asked. "What would you, Oz and myself be doing in the back of his van on a regular basis that we don't tell people about? Wow, that came out all kinds of wrong."

Larry resisted the urge to deck Xander and said "Maybe we could be in a band. Tell people that we were practicing."

"Oz already _is_ in a band." Xander said.

Larry shook his head. "Not anymore. Not since Devon went missing."

Xander was shocked. "_Dingoes ate my Baby_ has broken up?"

Larry nodded sadly. "Until further notice, yeah."

"But Oz never said anything!"

"Oz rarely ever does say anything." Larry noted.

"He must be hurting." Xander said. "I know what it's like to lose your best friend."

Larry felt an unusual surge of pity for Xander, but decided not to let it show. They might be allies, but they were far from friends. "Just wait 'till everyone hears about how we saved Cordelia from those three freaks last night!" Larry said.

"I thought that Nancy girl was really cute." Xander said.

Larry scoffed. "Yeah she was okay, but next to _Cordy_? C'mon. No competition. Not to mention the way she was checking me out the whole way home."

Xander silently disagreed. Cordelia Chase had seemed far more interested in discussing George Clooney with Oz than flirting with Larry during last nights late-night van ride. But Xander had learnt long ago, after many wedgies and black eyes never to vocally doubt Larry Blaisdell's sexual prowess. "I tell you Harris." Larry continued, "nothing is better than gratitude sex from a damsel in distress. They're so grateful afterwards, they'll try _anything_."

"You'd know better than most." Xander said quite aware that his sarcasm and wit would be lost on Larry.

"Oh yeah," Larry said. "Play your cards right with that Nancy chick, and even _you_ might get some."

"Right." Xander said, noting that after years of bullying, receiving a backhanded compliment from Larry marked the high point in their relationship.

"You like her, right?" Larry asked.

"She seems nice." Xander said. "Attractive too."

"I hope you don't feel it's too soon after Willow."

"Willow and I were never together." Xander said, although in the back of his mind he knew about her lifelong crush on him. "We were just friends."

Larry glanced around him to make sure that nobody was watching before lightly patting Xander on the shoulder. "I'm sorry about what happened to Willow."

"Yeah." Xander agreed, lost for words. "Me too."

The two boys stood awkwardly for a few moments. It had been little more than a week since Larry had tried to duct tape Xander to the basketball hoop. Here they were having civil conversations by day and saving damsels in distress by night.

Larry glanced up as he saw three associates of his turn the corner. "Oh crap. They've seen me in your company. My reputation is ruined."

Xander followed Larry's gaze and saw three students make their way down the hall; Kyle, Tor and Rhonda. The mean kids. Spotting Xander and Larry they quickly made their way over.

"Larry, man, what's up?" Kyle greeted.

"Not much." Larry said, mortified to be standing with Xander in front of people he knew.

"So Harris," Tor began, "I hope you got your permission slip signed for the field trip today. I'd hate for you to miss out on the shenanigans."

"Shenanigans?" Xander said with a cocked eyebrow. "That's a big word."

"Gonna try to toss that dweeb Lance into the monkey pit when Flutie's not looking." Rhonda said as she stepped forward and ruffled Xander's hair. "I'm sure he'll look right at home." Almost in unison the trio of mean kids let out a cackling laugh.

"So what're you doing hanging out with this geekaziod?" Kyle asked Larry jerking his head towards Xander.

"Oh, y'know." Larry said thinking quickly. "Just giving him a friendly warning to stay out of my way."

"Really?" Kyle said leering forward.

"Yeah." Larry said. "He's lucky he ran into me on the way _out_ of the bathroom and not the way in, because I swear there's a toilet bowl with his name on it."

"Well, you heard the man," Tor said giving Xander a shove. "Stay out of our way, or you'll be joining Lance in wedgie-land on our field trip."

Xander shoved Tor back. "I very much doubt that. You might frighten Lance and Jonathon with all your talk, but you kids are beneath me. Hell, you're beneath _Larry_."

Kyle gave Larry a slap on the back "You hear that? He just insulted your manliness!"

Xander turned to Kyle. "No, I just insulted _yours_. All you ever do is pick on easy targets and kiss ass."

"Kiss ass?" Kyle seethed, furious that Xander was standing up to him.

"Yeah, I've pretty much figured you lot out." Xander said. "You're just a pack of stupid dogs looking for an alpha to lead you in your mindless quest of obnoxiousness. I might get beat up by Larry here, Jack O'Toole and any number of other _real _bullies, but you lot aren't even on my radar."

"Yo, Kyle, let's maybe go find Lance?" Tor suggested, having no interest in picking on Xander. Xander might be a middle tier geek, but he had the nerve to actually _stand up_ to Kyle's pack, which made Tor yearn to pick on somebody who didn't pose such a challenge.

"Yeah!" Rhonda agreed with Tor, tossing back her dirty hair. "Let's shove Lance onto an anthill before we have to get on the bus for the zoo."

"I don't think we should let Xander off the hook just yet." Kyle said, mistaking Larry's apathy towards him as acceptance from the bigger dog. "Larry mentioned something about a toilet bowl with Xander's name on it? I think it's swirly time!" Kyle leapt forward shoving Xander against the wall. Xander moved to shove Kyle back, but before he had the chance, Tor had leapt at Xander from behind and gotten him into a headlock. Rhonda let out a harsh, cackling laugh before reaching forward and giving Xander a viscous noogie.

"Three against one," Xander grunted from under Tor's headlock. "You guys really impress me."

Kyle raised his fist, ready to punch Xander in the face. "Whadda 'ya say Larry? Should I teach this punk a lesson? Or do you want first shot?"

Rhonder nodded "Yeah, sock him Larry!"

"I don't think so." Larry said.

"What?" Kyle gasped in shock. All eyes were on Larry. Xander used this opportunity to kick Tor hard in the shins. The pseudo-bully doubled over in pain, releasing Xander from his headlock. "Look what he did to Tor!" Kyle screamed. "You're dead meat!" He swung his fist, ready to sock Xander in the face, but the punch never connected. Kyle turned to glare at Larry who was gripping Kyle's elbow, stopping the punch. "Kyle, man." Larry said softly. "I think you should go. You've had your fun with Harris, now go find Lance or something."

"Oh, I get it." Kyle sneered. "You don't want me to hurt you boyfriend here."

"What did you say?" Larry said, filled with rage.

"You heard me, Blaisdell." Kyle said. "I think it's sweet. At least we all know who wears the pants in the relationship."

That was it. Larry swung his fist up and punched Kyle in the face. "Son of a bitch!" Kyle screamed as he dropped to the floor clutching his bleeding nose.

"We'll get you Harris!" Tor shouted at Xander pointing at him with one hand while he clutched Rhonda's hand with the other. "You and your stupid gay-lover!" Tor bolted down the hallway with Rhonda before Larry could react.

"Where are you guys going?" Kyle screamed after his friends. He stood up tried to punch Larry. Too slow. Larry landed another nasty punch right in Kyle's guts.

"Larry Blaisdell!" screamed a female voice. "Stop that at once." Jenny Calendar raced over to the jock and glared at him. "You should be ashamed of yourself Larry!"

"Ms. Calendar, he started it!" Larry said, pointing at Kyle.

"I saw you punch him in the stomach!" Ms. Calendar said exasperated. "And just look at his face! Kyle, will you be able to clean yourself up before the field trip."

"I think so." He said, gripping his nose to stop the bloodflow. "I'd hate to miss the zoo." He shot a nasty look at Xander.

"What on earth is going on here!" a familiar English voice said as a familiar tweed-wearing figure rushed to the scene.

"I just saw Larry punch Kyle in the guts." Jenny said turning to Giles. "I believe a detention is in order."

"You didn't see the whole thing!" Larry protested. "It was total self-defence, right Xander?"

"It was." Xander said, glad that Giles was there to mediate with Ms. Calendar. "Kyle and his goons were being jerks. Um… Mr. Giles was just over there," he said pointing to a random doorway. "I'll bet you saw the whole thing, right?" Xander crossed his fingers, hoping that the British librarian and fellow Whitehat would pull through for them.

"Ah… erm… yes, I most certainly did." Giles said, following Xander's suggestion.

"You did?" Jenny Calendar narrowed her eyes with suspicion. She didn't believe him in the slightest. She also had witness Mr. Giles fighting vampires the previous night alongside Larry and Xander.

"Yes, I saw the whole incident."

"Oh really?" Jenny said, placing her hands on her hips. "You just stood over there _watch_ing this violence?" Jenny couldn't help but smirk as she emphasized the first syllable of the word 'watching'. Upon witnessing Giles fight vampires the previous night, she had done a bit of a background search of the man, and with a bit of slightly illegal hacking, she had discovered that he was a part of the Watcher's Council. Her own gypsy background meant that she was quite familiar with the role Watcher's played in the battle of good and evil.

"Yeah," Xander said. "Tell her who started this fight G-man."

Giles frowned at Xander. "The fight was started by yourself and Larry."

"WHAT??" Larry and Xander both said at once in shock.

"I saw you both picking on this poor boy," Giles said, barely managing to keep the smile of amusement from his face, "it was absolutely terrible."

"So a punishment is in order then?" Ms. Calendar suggested, still frowning.

"Yes, I believe a week's worth of sorting books in the library should be a suitable punishment."

"I was about to give them a detention in the computer labs." Ms. Calendar said. "They could learn while they serve out their sentence."

"Yes, precisely why they'll be with me in the library." Giles said. "They might learn something practical for a change."

Jenny Calendar glared at Mr. Giles, not pleased with the situation at all. Still both Xander and Giles had agreed that Mr. Giles had witnessed the ordeal in it's violent entirety, something which she couldn't claim for herself. "Very well then," she said. "Larry and Xander, you will be spending the next week helping Mr. Giles sort books in the library. Starting right now."

"But Ms. Calender!" Xander protested, furious that Giles had betrayed them like that. "Today is the field trip to the zoo! I can't miss that! It's almost vital for my education."

"You should have thought of that before starting fights in the hallway Alexander."

Xander cringed as Ms. Calendar used his full name.

Giles broke into a friendly smile which Ms. Calendar found downright obnoxious. "Right then. To the library then, gentlemen."

"Of all the dirty things!" Larry fumed at Giles as they walked toward the library.

"I can't believe you ratted us out like that!" Xander said.

Giles ignored them as he pushed through the heavy wooden doors and the three of them stepped into the library where Oz and Nancy were sitting, apparently awaiting the others.

"I'll be damned if I'm sorting any books." Larry said, folding his heavy arms over his chest. "That stupid fag Kyle started it."

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "You'd know that if you saw the whole thing which you didn't. You're a no good liar of a lying man. And to think we let you into the Whitehats."

"How are we supposed to trust a man who'd do that to us!" said Larry.

Giles cleared his throat and polished his glasses. Ignoring both Larry and Xander he turned to Nancy and Oz. "My apologies for our tardiness."

"No probs." Oz nodded.

Giles turned to address Xander and Larry. "Now, if everybody is finished complaining like juveniles, our first training session may begin."

"Training session?" Xander said, mouth agape.

"Our 'detention' is a training session?" said Larry.

"Yes." Giles responded. "The first of many, if ordinary teenagers such as yourselves are going to stand a chance against the vampires."

"Well, that's slightly less lame," said Xander.

"I'd like you all to welcome Nancy to the team." Giles said.

"Hi, everyone." Nancy said nervously. She was wearing a grey sweater, much more modestly dressed than she had been the night she was hanging out with Cordelia; the first night she had encountered the Whitehats.

"We've got a _girl_ on the team?" Larry scoffed. "No offence."

"Nancy's on the archery team." Oz said. "She's just valuable a remember as any of us."

"I lost my cousin to and a couple of close friends to vampires." Nancy said. "I'm really grateful that you guy's saved my life last night… and I'd like to do my part."

"No probs." Larry said puffing out his chest. "Saving hot babes is what we do best."

Nancy rolled her eyes, unimpressed with Larry's Neanderthal charms. Other girls might fawn all over the football-playing, nerd-tormenting Larry Blaisdell, but Nancy preferred guys with a little more brains, and a touch of sensitivity couldn't hurt either.

"Welcome to the team," Xander said as he took a seat next to Nancy. "We were sorely lacking someone with fine archery skills until now."

"Well, you've got the third best archer on the team." Nancy said.

"Third best?" Larry said.

"Well, nobody has ever been able to beat Michael Czajak in any of the competitions." Nancy admitted. "And now that Amy Madison has joined the archer squad she's pretty good at it too."

"Amy the obnoxious cheerleader wanabee?" Xander scoffed.

"Yeah," Nancy said laughing. "And her technique totally sucks. That girl doesn't even know how to hold a bow correctly, it's a wonder she hits the target at all. And yet she gets one bulls-eye after another. The only one who can beat her is MC."

"They've probably got some secret mojo going on giving them an edge over everyone else," joked Oz.

"Still," said Xander. "After the babyface goth and the ice-queen Amy, you're the next best right?"

"Yeah," said Nancy. "I'm more accustomed to hitting wooden targets than the chests of vampires, but I'm sure I'll learn."

"As shall we all." Giles said. He lifted a large heavy volume from the desk. "Today, we will work on basic hand to hand combat. Even the most common and untrained vampire can defeat the average human in terms of strength. Our advantage over them is going to be technique. While we may be unable to match our undead opponent's raw, supernatural strength, I will teach you all self-defense techniques that you may use to overcome that." He handed Xander a set of keys and directed him to the metal cage. "Xander, I'd like you to retrieve a pair of boxing gloves for everybody, and some focus pads. Today we will be focusing on punching and blocking techniques."

Xander returned with the equptment and dumped it on the table.

"Nothing wrong with my punching technique," Larry said.

"You're telling me." Xander muttered under his breath.

"Now." Giles began. "First I will demonstrate how to throw an effective punch and how to make an effective block. You will be punching with gloves on, and you will be hitting the focus pads. This way, _nobody_ will be injured." He shot Larry a dark look. "I cannot stress to you enough the importance of safety in our training sessions."

"You don't want us to get hurt training?" Nancy said.

Oz cracked a grin. "More like he doesn't want us going back to class with black eyes. Especially when some of us are supposedly here on detention."

Giles removed his glasses and polished them. "In my day, I would have been glad to return from detention with nothing to show for it save for a few small bruises. Consider yourselves lucky the educational system no longer employs the cane."

"Please." Larry scoffed. "As if you _ever_ got the cane. I'll bet you were born in a tweed suit and were nothing but a straight _A_ student all the way through library school, nothing short of the perfect student."

Giles merely smiled and hoped that the ghosts of his former headmasters were witnessing this discussion. Some nights he thought that his backside and legs _still_ ached from all the canings he received as a boy.

"You will each take turns in punching and blocking. I will pair you up according to your height and build. This of course means that Nancy, you will be paired with Oz, and Xander with Larry."

"Aw, crap," said Xander, hoping to avoid being paired with Larry.

"I call first go with the boxing gloves."

"No surprises there." Xander muttered.

* * *

**Sunnydale zoo, just outside the heyena den**

"I… I don't think we're supposed to be here." Lance said nervously.

"Aw, c'mon, Lancy." Rhonda said mockingly. "I thought you were cool." Kyle and Tor let out a pair of horrible, howling laughs.

"Lance, my man." Kyle said, throwing his arms around Lance's skinny shoulders. "You're almost a part of the group. Don't wuss out on me now."

"O… okay." Lance nodded, hoping that the bullies would leave him alone after this ordeal.

"I wanna see some hyenas!" Tor said. "Yo, Kyle, who's gonna be the top dog now that Larry is hanging with the dweebs?"

"Don't know, don't care." Kyle said, egging Lance closer still to the cage.

"I don't see anything." Lance said. He let out a small shriek as a hairy, spotted canine darted out from between two rocks in the cage. "Okay, I've seen enough." He said as the ugly creature looked up at him. "Can we go now?"

Tor snatched one arm while Kyle grabbed the other. "What's the hurry Lance?"

"Principal Flutie will be wondering where we got to…" Lance pleaded. "I don't wanna get into trouble."

"Relax!" Kyle said. "Flutie took us on this field trip so that we could appreciate nature and that's just what we're trying to do! We're not doing anything wrong! You like nature don't you Lance?"

"Yeah, I guess." Lance said, wishing that the meaner students would let go of him.

"He loves nature!" Rhonda exclaimed. "The way he was scribbling down the monkey pictures back there…" She snatched his notebook and tossed it into the hyena den where it fluttered unceremoniously to the ground.

"Hey!" Lance screamed, twisting out of Kyle and Tor's grip. "I needed that!" He raced over to the cage and clutched the metal bars as he looked helplessly down at his notebook, knowing that there was no way he'd ever see it again.

"Aw, what's the matter Lance?" Tor taunted.

"I think he wants his notebook back." Kyle said, grabbing Lance roughly by the back of his neck. "What do you say guys? Should Lance and his notebook get reunited?"

"No!" Lance screamed. "I don't need it anymore! Honest!"

"We don't believe you." Rhonda taunted.

The next few minutes were spent tormenting poor Lance. They would push him over the edge of the cage, hands held behind his back and they would yank him back to safety just before he fell. They never meant to kill him. But as their excitement got the better of him, they would challenge gravity again and again. A macabre yoyo, back and forth, back and forth. Each time, they would push Lance just a little further over the edge of the cage only to yank him back just in time. Each time the screaming, the laughter and the adrenaline escalated until the final shove, when the laughter stopped abruptly and the screaming became louder then ever.

Lance was barely able to make it back to his feet when the grey, spotted creatures hurtled towards him, tearing into him with the most powerful jaws from Africa.

Kyle, Lance and Rhonda barely had time to comprehend what they had done. Before the horrific realization sunk into their minds, something _else_ sunk in. Something wild and primal, something that came from the hyenas. They had performed a predatory act, picking on the weak and offering up a gift to the hyenas. They hyenas had given them a gift in return. Part of the hyena spirit left the beast and in a flash of green light, it had been transferred to the bullies. The pack. Once again they let out a laugh, a sick animal cackle. Kyle was the first to speak.

"Let's bail before Flutie sees what we've done." The tossed their heads back again and laughed. They raced from the cave, high-fiving and backslapping all the way back to the bus.

From the shadows, zookeeper Werick glared at the beasts. How could three teenagers achieve in minutes what he couldn't in his entire life?


End file.
